Baby On Board
by Mrs.Lautner.Wolf
Summary: After a night at a Hollywood after party, Bella wakes up naked in the bed of famous movie director Jacob Black with no clue how she got there. They agree to call it a one-time mistake that neither of them can remember and go their separate ways. But what happens when Bella has news that will force them into each others' lives permanently? JxB, Rated M
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, I know I haven't been around since I removed All Work and No Play from this site but that's because I've been trying to figure out JBNP. Don't worry; I'll get the hang of it. I was originally going to post this on that site but I thought I might as well post it here as well, right. So while I try getting the hang of the new site, you can all just enjoy the story here for now. Enjoy!**

**The Hollywood Reporter**

The venue was large, loud and crowded but not at all rowdy. Despite the excitement and upbeat atmosphere, the event taking place around me was an elegant affair. The ladies wore long, flowing designer dresses and walked with grace and poise. The gentlemen were dashing in their expensive suits and thoroughly polished shoes, each with a gorgeous date on his arm.

My feet were fucking killing me as I worked the extravagant events' hall, approaching these beautiful people, interviewing anyone I could recognise. I'd been scanning the room for familiar faces and pouncing before the other journalists got their hands on them.

Recorder, pen and paper, I interviewed Hollywood's finest, most rich and famous, then stepped aside so that my colleague and best friend Angela could capture the moment on her camera.

Angela and I had been lucky enough to get chosen by our magazine editor, Aro Volturi, to cover the Hollywood Screen Awards after-party. We were surrounded by all the A-listers, the big guns. This was the crème de la crème and it was our job to talk to them and report back to our readers.

We were dedicated to fulfilling our civil duties and we had been all over the place. We definitely were not motivated by the possibility that could end up interviewing some of our favourite Hollywood heartthrobs: wink, wink.

We made our way to the bar and seated ourselves at two stools at the end of the counter. Angela looked amazing with her blonde hair falling over her shoulders in rings and her long black single-strapped dress complemented with black heels and a golden clutch. It made me feel a little underdressed in my shorter sapphire blue dress, black heels and shoulder bag, all chosen by her. She had to force me into this outfit, saying I would probably pack something boyish.

My feet were dying, so I ordered us some drinks for a job well-done and let my legs rest.

"Oh my god, Bella, can you believe this?" Angela swooned beside me as she looked around herself in awe. "I've never seen so many gorgeous people in one room." Her blue eyes were wide and sparkly as she waved at someone I didn't know. "I swear to you, I think I brushed up against Tom Cruise five minutes ago!"

"I know exactly how you feel. I'm just so glad Aro chose us to go. Jane's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets."

I remembered our bitch of a co-worker's face when our editor announced that we would be the ones covering the after-party for the Hollywood Screen Awards, the article Jane had been dying to get, even though she'd been there the past three years. She'd already chosen what she was going to wear and who she was going to take.

The bitch was an ass-kissing hag from hell who was determined to be Aro's favourite. She always got jealous of anyone who was praised by Aro and made life a fucking misery for whoever the poor bastard was, which was usually me. Angela and I had gotten an earful before we left Seattle and I was certain she'd still be moaning when we came back.

"Jane has to get the hell over herself," Angela muttered as she took a sip of her pink drink, complete with a twisty straw and tiny umbrella. "I might just strangle her skinny neck one of these days."

I laughed because that was how the entire magazine staff felt, even Eric and Mike from accounting. "Trust me, Ang, I'm not gonna stop you. But if the cops come around, you're on your own."

It had been a very productive night for the two of us and we went over all the material we had together. Angela asked me which pictures I liked for my article and which ones Bree could have for the fashion segment. We agreed to pick out best and worst dressed later on. We also pointed out all the people we didn't get to talk to or who weren't there at all. Angela was disappointed because the star of her favourite soap opera, Embry Call, had left right after the awards were over. I hated the damned show but she always made me watch it with her.

After a few drinks and laughs, the venue started emptying out slowly, though there were still quite a large number of people. Angela decided that she was getting bored so she was heading back to the hotel. It was only a block away from where we were so I told her I would catch up with her later.

She rolled her eyes at me dramatically. "Really, Bella? How many times have I dragged to parties and clubs and you always want to leave right away? Now when nothing's actually happening, you want to stay?"

"No, I just think I'll sit just a moment longer."

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to leave you here on your own." Her irritation had turned into genuine concern. "I can stay if you want."

I waved her off. "I'll be fine. Promise I won't take long," I reassured her with a smile.

"Okay then," she shrugged. "Remember that our flight back is at 10:45 tomorrow," she reminded me and gave me a kiss on my cheek before leaving.

The truth was that I rather preferred to start working on my articles wherever the stories took place, while everything was still fresh in my mind. I pulled out my notes and a pencil and started reading through them again in more detail than I had with Angela. I scratched on my note pad with my pencil, correcting spelling mistakes, finding synonyms for the words that I didn't like, figuring out which parts I was going to include or leave out. I was so preoccupied with my work that I hardly realised the man sitting beside me until he groaned with his head pressed to his arms on the bar counter.

"God, just leave me alone."

It seemed like he was talking to himself because it was just him, the two bartenders and I sitting at the bar. He wore a pin striped jacket over a golf shirt with jeans, going with the semi-formal look. He had a cap on, clearly using it as a disguise. Having harassed many people myself, I could tell when someone was on the down low.

"Who you hiding from," I blurted out of curiosity. The picture in front of me was just so amusing that I had to ask. Also, his face was completely out of view, making my inner snoop lean in closer to see.

"My publicist," he murmured, peeked at me sideways and I immediately recognised that little part of his face, just from that tiny glimpse of dark skin.

I sat there a moment before a wicked grin crossed my face. "You're Jacob Black," I thought out loud. I was sitting next to Hollywood's former child-star-turned-director Jacob Black.

His sigh was tired and audible over the music playing in the background. I noticed that his shoulders were sagging. "Yeah, that's me. Just don't tell my publicist that I'm here. She's been dragging around the whole night, interview after interview. I don't think I could live through another one."

His pocket started vibrating so I guessed she was trying to call him on his phone. I turned my body so that I was facing away from the bar and looking towards the crowd. I stretched my neck over the sea of heads, searching for I don't know what. I saw a tall woman with a phone to her ear and the devil's scowl on her face. She looked terrifying but she looked stunning doing it in a deep red wrap dress. She looked like she was about to bust a vein in her forehead, her silky dark hair in curls just above her chin.

"Is she the scary one in the red dress," I asked Jacob without looking back at him.

"The one with the bitch eyebrow?"

At that I noticed how high up she had her dark eyebrow lifted, almost touching her hairline. "Yeah."

"That's definitely her, then," he sighed again. He sighed a lot, I noticed. He just seemed so down and out, like he could seriously use a break.

"I could get rid of her if you want," I offered before I could stop myself.

He lifted his head off the counter to glance at me sideways. "And how are you gonna manage that."

I thought about it for a moment then had an idea come to me. "Tell me her name," I demanded.

"What?"

"Her name, please," I repeated.

He hesitated before muttering the name Leah Clearwater with uncertainty. He probably thought that I might be a weirdo or something.

Thanking him, I hopped off the stool with a "Be right back" and headed off with my purse. I pushed through the crowd towards the spot where I thought I had seen this Leah Clearwater, hoping she hadn't moved from where she had been. It was a struggle but I eventually got to her just in time before she could go for the bar.

She was taller than I thought, even though I had been expecting her to be wearing high heels. Her face sent chills down my spine with how angry yet beautiful she could be at the same time as her eyes darted around the room searching. I almost lost my nerve but I swallowed down the intimidation and opened my mouth.

"Are you Leah Clearwater?" I asked loud enough for her to hear.

She glanced at me briefly then went back to watching for her client in the room. It was as if she hadn't really seen me. "Uh, yeah, I'm Leah . . ." she confirmed distractedly.

Okay. "Yeah, this guy, um, Jason or Jackson Black or whatever," I pretended to forget his name as her eyes darted at me and I jumped back a little at how Intense they were.

"Jacob Black?" she asked hopefully, scaring me little.

"That's it," I snapped happily as if she'd reminded me of the name. "He said he has a message for you."

Suddenly she grabbed my shoulders and shook my body like it was an emergency. "What did he say? Tell me!"

Damn, freak out much? "Well, he said to tell you that he was leaving."

"Did he say where he was going?" She towered over me with her perfect body and I struggled to speak clearly while she rattled mine.

I shook my head and she let go of me immediately. "He just said that he was "going back, whatever that means."

"That bastard!" she huffed and marched off without a second glance in my direction. She left the venue and I made sure she was gone before I returned to my seat at the bar. Black was still with his head down.

"She's gone," I announced, getting onto my stool and sipping from the drink I'd left there.

A second, and then he lifted his head off the counter completely, looking right at me now. It was him, alright. I'd know that face anywhere.

"Really?" he asked, seeming unsure.

"Saw the taxi leave with my own two eyes."

A crooked grin crept slowly across his face and he nodded in appreciation. "Thanks," he said, then held out his hand. "I'm Jacob Black."

Duh, captain obvious, I thought as I accepted his hand for a handshake. "I'm Isabella Swan, but just call me Bella."

"Alright then, Bella. Let me buy you a drink."

**AN: PLEASE! Your thoughts, everybody.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: I've rewritten this chapter quite a few times and I can't seem to get it right. So here's the last version of it.**

**One Night Stand**

Just waking up I had a bitch of a headache and I couldn't move an inch. I had my face buried in my pillow and the blanket pulled over my head. This must be what a hangover felt like, it felt like death. I felt like there was a chainsaw going at my skull with full force.

So when my phone rang loudly from somewhere close, my body bolted straight up out of shock and the movement felt like punch to the back of my head. My hands went to rub my temples and my eyes were shut tight as I tried to make the pain go away. I didn't bother answering the phone until the heavy metal ringtone stopped blasting my brains out. When I finally opened my eyes I realised that I wasn't where I thought I was. What the hell?

I'd been expecting to wake up under the white comforter of the of my beige walled hotel room, over decorated with indoor plants. Instead, I found myself between smooth silk sheets red as cherry and black in matching to the red, white and black colour scheme of the room. It was large and the décor was perfect. The walls were covered with bookshelves and fancy art pieces to match. The red, white and black curtains were pulled back, letting the early morning light blind the shit out of me. The room seemed to have been neat at some point but was now scattered with random items of clothing tossed all over, my clothes all over.

It took me a while to realise that I was completely naked. The expensive silk sheets felt like heaven on my bare ass as held them to me. Why the fuck was I naked?

And where the hell was I?

Spotting my bra strewn over the back of a chair, I got my some sense and decided it was time for me to get dressed. Once I had my bra on, I found my panties next to my phone on the bedside table and pulled them on. My dress was on the floor and I tossed it over my head. I couldn't zip myself up so I continued to search for my stockings, found under the bed. I tried to put them on with as much haste as possible while ignoring the drumming in my head. Wiggling and jumping was all I could do to get them up to my hips as fast as I could and then I had to look for my shoes.

"Going somewhere?"

The husky voice made me freeze after my head quickly snapped up too see him at the door. I identified the half-naked man as movie director Jacob Black and I remembered that I sat with him at the bar last night. Well, this wasn't awkward at all.

I couldn't help but notice how sexy his body looked in nothing but the dark Levi's jeans he had on. His body was made up of smooth russet skin, lean muscles and abs. he had that V shape disappearing into his jeans and I took my eyes off him before I went too far south.

"I'm sorry," I muttered, running my hand through my pigsty hair, not sure what it was exactly I was apologizing for.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it." He handed me a cup of coffee that I hadn't noticed before and I accepted it shyly. It smelt so good that I took a small sip of it and then a huge gulp and just let it slide down my throat. It made me feel just a tiny bit better, easing the pain in my head some.

"Uh, thanks." His dark eyes were on me but he didn't say anything. It made me remember a question I'd been asking myself subconsciously since I realised where I was. "Um, did we, uh . . ." Well, how do you ask someone whether you slept together or not. _Oh, hey, did I fuck you last night? I'd just like to know._ Yeah, not like that. But how else did I end up butt naked in his bed?

"We did," he said calmly, still looking at me.

"Oh." I had to look at my feet as I gripped the coffee mug tighter. Well this was just fantastic. Fucking awesome. Apparently I was now getting piss drunk and having one night stands with total strangers. Granted the stranger was gorgeous and famous but he was a stranger nonetheless. I ran my hand through my hair again and huffed. "I'm sorry but I can't remember much about last night and this never happens to me. I mean, like, ever and ―"

He snorted loudly and rolled his eyes. "Don't sweat it. I don't remember anything either. I guess we both had a drink too many."

What? Did I hear right? "You don't remember?" My brow wrinkled with confusion as I stared at him.

"It's one big blank space in my memory," he admitted too casually for my liking. Was this normal for him?

"Then how do you know we slept together?"

This time, it was his turn to frown and decide his coffee needed some inspecting. It was like he didn't know what to say, what to tell me. I saw what a mess his spikey black hair was. Oh, god, he had sex hair. Damn it.

"How do you know we slept together?" I repeated, getting a little worried. Why was he so hesitant?

He looked up me with what I though could be uncertainty and maybe some embarrassment and he scratched the back of his head. "We, uh . . . we taped it," he said and pointed across the room to a set up camera that I hadn't seen there.

I think my brain must have officially shut down because I froze and my jaw hit the floor. We taped it? We were so drunk that we taped it? What the hell were we doing? My heart was in my stomach and I started to feel sick on top of my aching head. I just stood there for a whole minute before I swallowed thickly and turned back to him.

"Did you watch it?" As if it wasn't obvious, or how else would he have known?

"Not all of it . . ."

"Oh," was all I had to say. And then, "Could I . . ." I must have sounded like a total perv, but I guess I had to see it to really believe. I didn't believe that I, Isabella Swan, had sex on tape.

"You don't believe me?" he asked like he was reading my mind. It was like I'd offended him.

"I . . . it's just that . . ." I had no idea what to say. I had no idea why I wanted to see it anyway. It would probably make things worse.

He sighed and put down his untouched coffee, going past me to the camera, set up on one of the shelves.

"I change my mind," I said very quickly. "I don't want to see it."

He stopped then and turned back to me. "Are you sure? I don't plan on keeping it. I will destroy it."

I nodded. I was pretty sure I didn't want to see it. I was all for destroying. Destruction was a good thing from my point of view. "Yeah. Um, you do that. Uh, I have to go." And then I remembered Angela and our flight back to Seattle.

"Oh, shit! I have to go!" Angela was going to kick the hell out of my ass when I got back. Did I even call her last night?

I started scrambling around looking for my shoes. I didn't feel like walking in heels at the moment but I couldn't exactly leave here without shoes, wherever here is.

"Your shoes are by the bathroom door. I'm gonna call you a cab" and he left.I looked at the second door in the room and my shoes lay there, one on top of the other. "Thanks," I mumbled as I went over and put the heels on. Now that I was fully dressed I grabbed my purse and phone and I could leave.

Jacob was at the door again and I awkwardly followed him out. I'd thought that his place was an apartment but as he led me downstairs to the front door, I could see that it was a house on the hills. An open spaced home with the living room, dining room and kitchen sharing the same large room. The east wall was made up of glass doors leading to a balcony. The décor, just like in the bedroom, was brilliantly done as if it had jumped right out of the pages of a homemaker's magazine.

We were at the door then, and it was awkward as hell. Neither of us knew what exactly what to say to each other.

"Your, uh, you need help zipping that up?" he gestured to his own back.

My dress was still unzipped at the back and I forgot. "Oh um, yeah," I said, turning around to let him zip me up. There was a moment before I felt his fingers sweep my hair away from my neck. Quickly I held my hair up so that he could do his work. Slowly, he zipped me up all the way then let his arms drop.

"Thanks," I said, letting go of my hair and facing him again. "So, I guess this never happened?'

He nodded. "It never happened."

A car horn beeped outside. "I guess that's me. Um, bye."

He opened the door for me and brightness almost knocked me off my feet. I wish I had shades. "Yeah, er, bye."

With a huff I walked out and down the long driveway to the waiting taxi cab and got in. "Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, please," I told the driver and I didn't look back at the house as it drove off.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Even though I'd called Angela on the cab ride home (not that she gave me a chance to speak), I couldn't say that I didn't expect the verbal beating she gave me the moment I walked through the door.

"Where have you been, Bella? Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was? I called the _police_! _The police_, Bella!" she was waving her arms about in the air and then she started shaking me by the shoulders the way Leah Clearwater had the night before, bringing back the full force of my headache. She went on and on for an entire ten minutes.

Then she yanked me into a tight hug.

"Damn it, Bella, you scared me!"

"Ang, I called you on my way her. I'm perfectly fine," I assured her, patting her back.

"Bella, let me tell you how worried I was," she spoke slowly. "I almost called your dad."

I pushed her away her shoulders in reflex. "You called my dad!" I yelled in outrage. "Why would you call Charlie? You know how much he worries! Stress isn't good for him! That was so unnecess― Ouch!"

She flicked a finger at my forehead and then my nose. "Shut up, Bella! I'm the one supposed to be yelling. And I said I _almost_ called your dad, so calm the fuck down."

As if this headache wasn't bad enough, I was now rubbing my forehead where Angela's finger hit me. "Okay, I'm sorry." God, I've been apologizing a lot today.

"It's alright. Now, go take a quick shower. We have a flight in an hour and I've already picked out your clothes. You'll tell me all about what happened later."

The shower was relaxing but it didn't help my headache. I got dressed, took an aspirin or three and was ready to go. I also was forced to tell Angela everything while we bought breakfast at the airport then boarded our flight. She seemed to be excited that I'd done something wild for once in my life but I, on the other hand, couldn't say that blacking out was my kind of fun. I still felt like shit.

"So neither of you can remember anything?" she whispered over to me. We had a feeling the guy sitting in front of us had nothing better to do than to listen in on our conversation.

"Yeah."

"But you have the whole thing on tape?"

I nodded.

She thought about that for a moment. "Was it hot?"

Oh God! "Jesus, Angela, stop it! Why would you even ask me that? That's so . . . ugh!"

"I just want to know!"

I sighed. "It doesn't matter, okay! I didn't watch the tape!"

"Why not?"

"I just didn't." I snapped. "I don't feel like talking about this anymore," I decided suddenly and settled into my seat properly yet not comfortably with my hangover. I'd worn the darkest shades I could get my hands on but still wished for a pair of soundproof ear muffs.

I couldn't wait to be back in Seattle, in my own home and in my own bed. I slept the rest of the flight back and, for a moment, I thought I might have dreamt of my night with Jacob, between his smooth silk sheets.

**AN: Thoughts? I'm begging you to review. PLEASE. I need to know that _someone_ is reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I was supposed to post this ages ago but school kept very busy. Please forgive me! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you've all made me very, very happy. Those of you who mentioned it will find out why Bella decided not to watch the video. I write to make you people happy! Enjoy.**

I was more than relieved to get home, heading straight for my pyjamas and bed. But before I could lose consciousness and sleep off what hadn't been slept off of my headache, I had to email Aro my article within the next three hours. Having indulged in another aspirin I set off on writing the two page article and drinking tons of coffee while I was at it. I tried not to rush it so that I could take a nap. It wouldn't do to send an article riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes.

Finally I was done with the writing and then emailing it, so I could put the laptop away and rest my head on my pillow. Somewhere far away in my mind I thought about how wonderful the silk pillows had felt on my cheek this morning.

It was hard to believe that it was only this morning that I woke up in the silk bed sheets. Right now it felt like it had been days ago. It was almost a distant memory from an entirely different time in my life. When I fell asleep, it was heaven. I was totally and completely knocked out. I was so deeply asleep that I didn't even dream, and when I woke up, I felt like a million dollars.

It was dark outside my window and the alarm clock told me it was around six-thirty in the evening. I lay there in my bed for a while longer to let the warm blankets comfort me. My head was clear as day and free of any aches or pains. It was amazing what a five hour nap could do for a person.

My world back to normal, I thought I would spend the rest of the evening eating pasta and watching whatever movie was on. With no time wasted I was in the kitchen making pasta sauce while I left the spaghetti over the stove. All of a sudden life could be sunshine and rainbows.

There I was, elbow deep in homemade pasta sauce when there was a knock at my door. Lucky I had those lever faucets so that I wouldn't make of the sink. Once my hands were clean I went to peek through the peep hole, Angela waiting on the other side.

"Hey, I was just about to watch a mov―" she cut me off as I opened the door by grabbing my wrist and dragging me to my kitchen, sitting at the table in the middle of the room.

"I need to show you something," she said stiffly. She placed the bag she was holding on top.

Just the stern look on her face told me that whatever this was it was going to be some serious shit.

"Okay," I urged her on carefully. "What's going on?"

She turned on her laptop and entered her password without saying anything to me. It made me anxious. She opened her email account then opened the last email she had received, which apparently was from me. At two in the morning.

"Did you know you sent this to me?"

I leaned over her shoulder to see what the hell she was talking about. I nearly had a heart attack.

Hey Ang,

Made a sex tape with a Hollywood star!..Lol!

D'ya think I'll be famous? Tell me what you think!

I'll see you tomorrow.

PS: We might have to find me a porn star name.

-Bella

And below the already embarrassing pre message, was a link to play a video.

Well, I didn't see that coming. I guess I'd gotten drunker than I thought. "Oh my god, Angela, I had no idea that I emailed this to you! I didn't even know I had it on me!" I was beyond embarrassed at that time and my face was burning up like a halloween pumpkin. There was no question as to what it was Angela was showing me, and I felt like ripping the hair out of my head. How the hell did I email the video if it was on Jacob's camera? Where did I even send it from? I had so many questions to ask that I probably would never know the answers to. Damn drunken Bella! I vowed mentally that I would never drink ever again.

"Did, you watch it?" I asked her, the way I asked Jacob Black this very morning.

"Uh, hell no! I love you, Bella but I have my limits."

I pulled up the chair next to her because I swear I was about to fall over. "Thanks. I guess," I sighed heavily. And then a really scary thought entered my mind. "You don't think I sent it to anyone else, do you?"

She shrugged. "That's mostly what I was worried about. Otherwise I wouldn't have stressed you and just deleted it. You never would have known. But I couldn't just hope for the best in this case. I had to take action."

I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It was probably just what my best friend thought was best for me. "I'll go get my computer."

I went into my room, got my computer and was back in the kitchen with Angela. I opened my email account then scanned all the emails I sent before the one to Aro this morning. The sigh of relief came from the both of us when there was no record of the email being sent to anyone else.

"Well, that was a close one," I said and Angela burst out laughing. I couldn't help but laugh with her, even though I didn't know what it was we were laughing at.

"Imagine," she choked. "Imagine you sent it Mike!" and then she laughed harder. "Or James!"

Now I knew why she was laughing. James was my loser ex-boyfriend who turned out to be a real bastard and told me that I "would never find another man like him" after we broke up. Mike was a guy from a men's magazine in the same building as us. He was really sweet and a little shy and everyone insisted he had a crush on me. He would just keel over and die if he ever saw this tape. He was one of the easy blushers, actually worse than I was, and turned bright crimson at the smallest of smiles I ever shot in his direction.

So once again, Angela had managed to make a serious situation a hilarious joke. That was why she was my best friend. She could always make me laugh.

It became quiet when we stopped laughing and she threw her arm around me. "I'm never inviting you to get drunk with me ever again. You'll end up married in Vegas!"

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, bitch."

I got up to check that my pasta sauce wasn't burning when she said, "Bella, I think you should watch it. The video, I mean."

"Why would I do that?" I snorted as I took the pot off the stove and placed it on the counter in front of her.

She shrugged. "To be honest, I think you really need to know what happened. You need to know the whole story."

I looked at her for a moment. "You're not saying this because _you_ want to watch it, are you?" and I had to dodge the apple she threw at my head from the fruit bowl.

"Hey! You owe me an apple!"

We chatted until I was done making the pasta and we shared it from one big bowl while we watched Titanic for the sixty fifth million time together. Angela recited Jack's lines while I pretended to be Rose. She even held my hand at the part where Jack was giving Rose the 'you're not gonna die' speech.

When the final credits started rolling up, we did our tradition mock bashing of Kate Winslet for letting Leo die. We washed the dishes together then sat on the sofa watching celebrity gossip and drinking hot chocolate. At the end of the show, I said, "Ang?"

"Yeah?"

"You're the best."

She put her arm around my shoulders and told me, "That's what I'm here for. To help you out."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I sat on my bed with my pillow on my lap and my computer on my pillow. I had the video link right on the screen and the mouse ready to click on it. Angela had gone back to her place and I was here alone. I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the unknown, or rather, the forgotten.

I pressed play.

_My whole screen showed a dark room, with a bed from the side view and . . . and me. I was on the bed, on top of someone, obviously Jacob, who was slightly obscured by the dark. It was quiet, with only soft, erratic breathing filling the room. I was kissing him, my hair falling around my face and my body moving over his. His hands went up my bare back and unclipped my bra, sliding it down my arms and tossing it. His hands moved downwards, slipping under those red silk covers to hold my hips. He starts moving my hips faster and for a moment I seem to lose myself in it. My head falls forward and I arch into him more, until I reach back and take one hand off of me and bringing it to my lips then whispering in his ear, 'Patience, Mr director."_

_He whispers back to me, 'I've never been a man of patience,' before rolling me over and moving again._

_I gasp as he moves __quickly __over m__y body, making me moan and gasp__ then I pull__ed__ him in for a kiss. I can see him better on top of me, his dark still almost golden and the muscles in his arms and back rippled with every movement_. I still couldn't see his face.

I hadn't realised that my hand was practically tearing the fabric of my top as I clutched at my chest. This was too much for me, too mu h to handle. I felt weird watching myself with someone. I felt really weird that I didn't feel weird. What scared me was that I was getting a little flustered watching it. A little too hot and bothered.

It got way too weird for me and I couldn't go any farther. I closed the laptop and put it on the bedside table. I sighed and tried to shake the heated feeling all over me. My alarm clock told me that it was way past midnight and that it was time for me to go back to bed.

I pulled the covers over and lay my head down, finding that I was more exhausted than I thought. Soon, I was fast asleep and warm. I dreamt of Jacob and his silky sheets again that night. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I was gasping and hot.

**AN: Please forgive me! I didn't proof read today! I'm feeling lazy. I know this chapter is shorter than the others but please keep reviewing, please. You have no idea how encouraging it is to know you're out there and enjoying what I write. I love you guys for your support.**


	4. Stressed?

**AN: Sorry for taking so long, people. I've been busy. Someone pointed out that I am inconsistent in my writing so I'm sorry for that too. Also, I will be writing a JPOV as one of you suggested and that will be the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Stressed?**

God, I'd been feeling like shit lately. Well, not like shit but a little weird. And all of a sudden I've become quite moody this week and I didn't know why.

I was just about to take a massive bite out of the cupcake I was holding when Angela smacked it out of my fingers. I jerked my hand back quickly and rubbed the place where it stung. "Ow!" I exclaimed while shooting her a dirty look. "What the hell, Ang?"

"Bella, that's like the fifth cupcake you've had in the last five minutes. Don't you think you should slow down?"

I wrinkled my nose at her, glancing around the kitchen and hoping no-one else in the office heard as they all crowded around Tanya. "It is not my fifth cupcake. And there're really good!"

Just as I was about to reach for another cupcake, she smacked my hand again and ignored my protests as she led me away from the office kitchen and our co-workers. She took me to her desk and sat me down. "Bella, I don't think Tanya will appreciate you eating her entire going away party." Or the fact that I nearly soaked her white blouse in tears earlier. I was suddenly devastated to see her leave but I couldn't explain why. She was great and all but we weren't that close.

I rolled my eyes at her then slumped forward with my elbows on her desk and my cheeks in my hands. "Ang, I have no idea what is up with me these days. I've just been feeling so . . . bleh. And really tired, especially when I get home."

"Maybe you're just bloated from all that eating."

I shot her a serious glare and she laughed at me.

"I'm being serious. I don't feel sick but I don't feel right either. You should see me in the mornings!"

Angela, seated on her desk in front of me, patted my my head like I was a little kid. "I know what's going on with you, Bella. Or at least I think I might know." She thought about it for a moment then nodded to herself. "You're just stressed, my friend. Think about it. With every writer on this floor wrestling for Tanya's spot now that she's gone, you've had to work extra hard even though you're totally the best candidate in my opinion. You do want you're own column, right?"

I nodded my head under her hand.

"Right. So you're so tired all the time from working and you're munching out because, I mean, who doesn't feel better after junk food?"

That made sense, I guess. And I did want Tanya's place. She had her own advice column that I'd envied since my first day at _La Donna_ magazine. Now, Tanya was setting off to start her own periodical and her column needed someone to write it. I wanted to write it. So ever since Tanya announced she was leaving three weeks ago, I've been busting my ass with work, hoping Aro would take note of my dedication to the magazine, not that it wasn't there before.

"You see!" Angela beamed the way she did whenever she felt she'd convinced anyone of anything. "You just need to relax for a bit. Tell you what; since it's a Friday why don't you crash at my place tonight? We could just hang out like we do. And there's a really good plot brewing on _Sunset Drive_ today!"

I groaned loudly and let my head fall onto the desk. She was taking about that damned soap opera of hers with Embry Call, her supposed "future husband" as a lead character. I really hated that show. But I told her that I would be over there an hour after we knocked off.

At five we left the office and bumped into Mike Newton in the elevator. He was always so quite and shy and really adorable.

"Hi, Mike!" Angela greeted him and he sort of turned red as I smiled at him.

"Hello," he said shyly. "How are you."

"Well, thanks and you?"

"I'm doing okay."

Angela then had to be her loud self and make the poor guy blush. "Look at you two! So cute together!"

Mike went super red and I patted him on his arm, which probably made it a bit worse because he stiffened a little.

The elevator open on our floor and just as we were all walking out, Angela mentioned how we would be a good match together, making Mike turn a whole new shade of red, then walked off laughing.

I ran my hand through my hair and apologised to Mike before telling him to have a nice weekend.

I made my way to my car and just sat there with my face in my hands for a while. I was getting tired of this weirdness. I put on my hands-free ear piece then dialled my doctor as I started the car.

"Dr Jenks's office, how may I help you?" the familiar southern voice greeted politely.

"Hey, Mrs Cope, it's Bella. I need to make an appointment. I haven't been feeling very . . . normal lately."

"Hello, Bella dear, are you okay?" she asked with concern.

I shrugged as I turned the next corner even though she couldn't see me. "I don't think it's anything serious. I'm just feeling funny. I just want to make sure it's nothing serious."

There was a pause and I could hear the flipping of pages. Then, "Alright, sweetheart, how's Sunday afternoon?"

I thought about how hectic things were at work right now and how hard I'd been working. I'd been planning on working Sunday. But then I didn't want to put this off any longer than I already had and compromise my health.

"Tuesday afternoon will be fine, thanks. I'll call again if I need to make any changes."

"Alright, dear, you take care now, you hear?"

"I will, Mrs Cope. See you on Sunday."

"Bye now." And then the line went dead just as I pulled to a stop. Handbag and coat ready I get out and made my way into the ten storey apartment building I'd been calling home for the last five years. As I unlocked my door I felt the urge to just collapse onto my bed but reminded myself that I was spending the weekend at Angela's. I packed my for two nights and was out in a flash.

It had been a little over a month since the whole Jacob Black drama and since then I hadn't wanted to think about it much. Angela tried to comfort me after I told her I watched the video by making jokes.

"Knowing your stroke of bad luck, it was probably the greatest sex you'd ever had but you'd never know."

I hadn't found that funny and it made me want to watch the video again. The whole thing and from the beginning this time.

Then I remembered how flustered I'd felt while watching it the first time and lost my nerve. And so it was just sitting there on my laptop waiting for god knows what to be done about it.

Soon, I found myself taking the elevator to the seventh floor and knocking on door three-oh-five. When the door opened I was smacked in the face with the smell of my favourite take-out burgers and my best friend only stood there in her pyjamas and a smug grin.

"Well, don't just stand there! Come on in!" She moved aside to invite me in and I immediately flew over to the kitchen. The smell came from two plates occupied by double cheese burgers, fries and two cokes on the side. I licked my lips and rubbed my hands together, realising how hungry I was and popping two long fries into my mouth.

"Hey! Shower and change first! Sunset Drive is about to start."

I took another three fries before making for the bathroom. I made quick in the shower, though it was relaxing, and got into my Little Miss pyjamas. I tied my hair back as I made my way back to Angela's living room where she and the food and Sunset Drive were waiting for me. As I sat beside my bestie on her sofa the annoying theme song blared at us, Angela ready and anticipating.

I started eating the fries on my plate with a blanket over my lap and Angela quickly explaining what had been happening previously.

"So Amber had a miscarriage and didn't tell Michael so she bought a baby from a pregnant teenager and told Michael it's his baby. But now Hannah wants her baby back and Amber is fighting with her in the living room, not knowing Michael is about to walk in and hear their conversation!"

There was pure excitement as she recapped the last month of events in her favourite show. I could tell she was just bursting with anxiety and anticipation.

From then on I was hushed every time I tried to comment on something but when the commercials came on she'd set off about this and that and how absolutely dreamy Michael/Embry Call was.

At some point "Michael" found out that the baby in question was not his and Angela couldn't help but hold a pillow to her chest and stare intensely at the television screen.

_"Michael, please! Let me explain!"_

_"No, Amber! It's too late for explanations. It's over between us,"_ the voice was overly dramatic and angry. The acting was even more over the top. I'd learned early on that the show was greatly based on people crying at least once in _every_ episode. It took some getting used to but now I was able to let out small snickers instead of having full force laughing fits. By the end of the show Angela seemed completely mind blown. I was just glad I didn't have that kind of drama in my life.

"Wow! Was that not amazing?"

I nodded carelessly, chewing the last bite of my burger. The best thing to was just agree to whatever she said.

We watched a few movies, most of them Angela rented out only because there were hot guys on the cover, and pretty soon we were half dead and went to bed.

The next day, Angela wanted to go to the mall or something but I didn't feel like walking around looking at stuff. So she took me to a beauty salon where I could just lay back in a chair while my nails and hair were made up. It felt good to just sit back and not do anything. It helped me forget the work related stress and the doctor's appointment tomorrow would only confirm that I was okay.

After the salon we went back to her place and rented more movies.

The next day, Angela and I went our separate ways and by the afternoon I was with Dr Jenks.

"So, Bella, what seems to be the problem?" Dr Jenks was a really short man with a balding patch at the top of his head but he was friendly and likable, which was why I stuck with him for so long. He was reliable.

"Well, I've just been feeling weird recently. My best friend thinks it's stress but I just want to be sure about it."

He nodded, putting on his doctor face and asking questions as he examined me. He took my blood pressure and listened to my heart and my temperature.

"So, am I okay doctor?" I asked when he stopped poking and probing at me and I jumped off the gurney.

"Nothing's wrong with you, exactly . . ." he said with a slight smile that made me

My forehead crinkled and my eyebrows knitted together. What did that mean? "But?"

"But you are pregnant." He beamed at me.

For some reason, I started laughing hysterically. Actually, it was because there was no way I could ever be pregnant. I couldn't even imagine me pregnant! At least not now!

"C'mon, doctor, I don't even have a boyfriend to have a baby with! Besides, you didn't take my blood or anything. How did you come to the conclusion that I was pregnant?"

He shook his head at me still smiling. "Your symptoms. Eating for two, always sleeping, sick in the morning. It's quite obvious."

Oh, my heart sank down to my stomach. "But I haven't been throwing up or anything like that."

"But you've felt nauseous, right?" And then my stomach sank to my feet.

I reluctantly nodded, my mind going to that one accidental night a month ago that I couldn't remember. "But still, maybe it's something else. You could be wrong."

"When is your cycle due?"

That's where he got me, because I wasn't completely sure. I guess I forgot to keep track of it oh so conveniently this month. Damn it!

I started counting on my finger from the last time I had my period and I recounted a second and third time before slouching my shoulders. "A week ago," I sighed in defeat, putting my face in my hands. "Oh god, this isn't happening."

I felt a hand patting my shoulder, and soon was accompanied by a voice. "Normally I would congratulate you but it seems like you're not too happy about it. Do you need someone to talk to?"

That nausea he was talking about? Yeah, I could feel it now as I looked up from my hands. My heart was pounding, pulsing now in my ears and my eyes saw white spots everywhere. I was so dizzy. I wanted to shake my head but instead I felt myself falling before I totally blacked out.

**AN: Erm, your thoughts? I'm not too sure about this chapter. I didn't do a good job of building up to it, did I? Well, tell me what you think.**


	5. Shame

**AN: Okay! Jacob's POV this chapter and I hope I get it right. I'm hoping to get them to their next meeting soon but at the same time I don't want to rush it. Here we go!**

The rabid banging at the door hammered away at my skull, my head almost exploding with pain. As I lazed on my sofa, trying to nurse myself through my hangover, Leah went at my front door like a chainsaw. No that Bella was gone I could stop pretending not be affected.

"Jacob Black, when I get my hands on you I swear to you . . ."

Her loud voice was worse than her fist banging away at my door. The pain in my head intensified and I tried to tune her out with a cushion over my head.

"Jacob, I know you're in there! I am not leaving until you open the fucking door!"

I believed her.

Unwillingly, I got up, hand to the side of my neck and I opened the door.

If it weren't for the hangover, I would have seen the backhand coming my way and been able to stop it, but it was too late by the time I felt the strike across my right cheek. "That'll teach you to run away from me at an event!" She grumbled as she let herself in right past me.

"Damn it, Leah! What the fuck!" My head hurt too much to actually yell but I was able to present the irritaion I felt. With a groan and a hand to my cheek, I carefully placed the door in it's frame without slamming it. Just as I turned back into the room, her palm came into contact with my left cheek, making my head snap to the right painfully. "And that will teach you to keep your dirty sexcapades to yourself!"

I had to stand there for a moment, rubbing the side of my face miserably. "Jesus Christ, woman! What is your problem!" I sat back down on my sofa, trying to ignore the sting on my cheeks and the pain in my head. "I should throw your ass out right now."

She paced impatiently in front of me with her arms crossed and her hair swaying side to side. I couldn't look at her too long without becoming dizzy.

"That little video you sent me! What the hell were you thinking? I swear, Jacob, if that video finds it's way to the press . . ." She trailed off in frustration.

Did that mean I sent her the video? Just the thought of it made me want to bang my head against the wall, but later.

"Oh hell! Leah, I'm sorry. I can't even remember what happened last night. You know I'm not that kind of person!" I pleaded. And then I thought about the possibility that I could've sent that video to anyone else. I would have to check on that.

"So, what exactly are you saying? Did the devil make you do it? It doesn't matter what kind of guy you are, Jacob! It's scandalous and it's disgusting! Do you know what the press will do to you if it _leaks_!"

While Leah yelled at me like the tyrannosaurus she was, I wondered how much of the video she saw. More than anything, I felt so terrible that I had gotten drunk in the first place, then made a sex tape with a total stranger. Jesus, this was such a mess.

" . . . Why am I even wasting my time being your publicist when you don't even care for your own image! One of these days, Jacob, I'm going to forget that you're my cousin and strangle you to death with my own bare hands!"

I let her go on and on without listening to her and laying back. She was making perfect sense, of course but right then, I really would've liked another asprin. Or a nap.

"Seeing as you're too hungover to do anything involving brain activity, I'm cancelling your entire day in your schedule." She started tapping away at her Blackberry. "I can't let people see you like this. I have a reputation to uphold. And this isn't over. Tomorrow, when you're sober, we're having a serious talk!" She shot me one last glare then stormed out of my home, slamming the door and making me cringe. I wasn't that hungover. I just had a headache and a little nausea.

Now that it was quiet, I was able to shut my eyes and sleep a few hours and sooth the pain in my head. When I woke up again at Midnight, feeling lifetimes better, I realised how much shit Leah held back today and was going to unleash when I next saw her. The headache returned.

Leah tossed the five magazines in front of me as I sat down at my desk. She had the eyebrow thing going on, telling me that there was going to be hell to pay. She had given me utter hell the day after she came round my house. She pointed her long, slender fingers at me, came close to slapping me another three times and almost broke a few of my lamps and vases. I was lucky to make it out alive.

"All these magazines show pictures of you leaving last weeks event with a 'mysterious lady in blue' and driving off in a cab." She used the air quotation with a deep scowl, showing her distaste at the choice of words. "But I know who she is. Or least I took the time to find out! Do you even know her name?"

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, hoping that she's leave me alone if I appeared to be listening. "Isabella Swan," I sighed. "Of course, I know her name."

"So do you know what she does?"

"Yeah," I said without thinking. "She's a . . . She's a . . ."

"You have no idea! She writes for a magazine! Do you know what it means if she decides to go public with that video?"

"She won't," I said defiantly, swivelling in my chair to look out the window and Leah let out a frustrated screech.

"Right! Because you know her so well, right? I've spent half my career keeping your image scandal free! Don't let all that work go to waste because of one silly mistake!" Almost steaming from the ears, she took a deep breath, pinched the bridge of her nose and clenched her jaw, the eyebrow still nearing her hair line. Her voice was calmer. "You'd better fix this, Jacob, because if that video gets out, you won't be the only one with a stain on your image. Call that girl and make sure that you have an understanding, you hear me?"

I looked back at her and nodded.

"Good. Remember your meeting at five," she reminded me and left, taking deep breaths and shaking out her hands.

Truth be told, I didn't know if I could contact Bella again without dying of complete shame. What happened a week ago was a drunken one night stand, but that wasn't the problem. I could've at least remembered what happened. I wished that I did. Now I felt like a total asshole.

I really did think that Bella wouldn't start anything. She was a decent girl and I thought there was a little modesty to her, so I didn't think it was necessary to bother her. I'm pretty sure she wasn't dying to hear from me anyway.

Right after Leah disappeared, my best friend poked his head in with a stupid grin on his face. "Dude! What? Did you do?"

I crumpled up a blank piece of paper and threw it at him from behind the desk. He dodged it and laughed, coming in to sit opposite me. "Hey, man, I'm just askin'" he held up his hands in front of me.

I opened one of the magazines, found the page in which I featured and showed him the picture of me getting into a cab with a woman whose face was covered by dark brunette hair.

Embry looked at the picture for a moment then shrugged his shoulders. "Meh! Big deal. What's Leah got her panties in twist about?"

I sighed. "I took that girl home with me for the night."

"Again. Big deal. She'll get over it."

"Yeah," I sighed again. "Except that we made a tape."

Embry, being my very closest friend, was the only person whose out burst of laughter at the situation would not offend me. Our whole friendship was based on laughing at each other and he always made me feel better at the end of the day. "Dude! You have a sex tape out there?! Wait unitl I tell Paul and the others!"

"If you dare, I'll break your neck," I threatened with a glare.

And then he doubled over in the chair, laughing even harder. "Wait until Billy and the twins find out!" He was past the point of hysteria, tears coming out of his eyes and his breath coming in short. "Man, you are officially a true Hollywood personality!"

"Yeah man, whatever."

"Dude," he breathed when he was finally done. "I'm not promising to not make fun of you or anything, but if Leah comes at you, I got your back."

He held his fist out towards me and I couldn't help but smile at his foolishness and touch his fist with my own. "Thanks, bro."

"That's why I'm here," he said, getting up. "If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me."

"Right, man. Now get out of here, I've got work to do."

"Stay out of trouble, dude. I won't always be there protect you from dragon lady. And I want to see the tape!"

He ducked out of the room before the stapler could hit him in the head, laughing all the way.

I thought about contacting Bella and at least apologising for what happened but then though much better of it. It might be a bad idea. She probably didn't want to hear from me. She probably though I was some Hollywood jackass who went around sleeping with girls from parties. I had no reason to believe she would expose either of us to the media so it wasn't necessary to call her right now. Maybe later, when the moment was still so fresh. I'll just apologise and leave it at that.

I'd gotten so many calls from girls who falsely claimed to have spent the night with me but Leah always made sure they were "taken care of". I've never ever asked her what it was exactly that she did, and I never ever wanted to know. There was nothing I would be able to put past Leah.

I asked Leah to email me Bella's contact details, without the intention of actually calling her. At least not for now. But this way, Leah would get the hell off of my back and I could go back to having peace and quieyt, as quiet as your life could be with Leah involved.

In a way, I wished I could get to know Bella better because, even though I was drunk and could remember much after leaving the party, I remembered having a good time with her at the bar. And she was a very beautiful woman. But at the same time, it was the same reason I felt so guilty about the whole thing. I felt like the whole thing was my fault. Now Leah will never let me out of her sight as far as alcohol and women went.

The rest of the day went by slowly and I went through the motions, no enthusiasm in the one thing that made me truly happy: my work. Leah scowled at me all day and Embry dropped sexual innuendos every chance he got. I was surround by bastards. Though they were my family.

I had a feeling something was coming at me, but I had no idea what it was. Maybe I'd developed a natural instinct for knowing when Hurricane Leah was about to hit because the rest of that month, she was whipping at me like a slave-driver on a bad sales day.

But still, I wasn't sure what was coming. I just had that feeling.

**AN: A bit short but tell me what you think.**


	6. Preggers

**AN: Wow, wolf girls are animals. The response to that last chapter practically knocked me off of my chair. I have to get back to Bella though, but don't you worry, he'll be back soon. Enjoy this one.**

When I woke up, found Angela fanning my face with a copy of La Donna's latest issue. She was over doing it, of course, and my hair looked I'd gotten caught up in a tornado. Her hugging was like being stuck in a too tight corset and I couldn't breath.

"Oh my god, Bella, you scared me! What the hell happened?"

My head was hazy and I needed to blink a few times to clear my fuzzy vision. "What?"

"I got a call from the hospital that you were here and might need to be driven home. I practically broke every traffic law. Why are you here?"

"Didn't Dr Jenks tell you?"

Angela threw her arms in the air dramatically, looking completely outraged. "Not a damn thing! He said I'd have to wait for you to tell me , whatever the hell that means. I think you should get a new doctor! I don't like this guy."

When I felt normal enough, I managed to sit up. I was still in Dr Jenks's surgery but he was nowhere to be seen. I wondered where he went.

"So? Are you gonna tell me what happened or not?" Angela demanded, pulling my attention back to her.

"Oh! Um yeah." My hand went to my stomach without my permission as I recalled what happened. Ironically enough, I felt like I wanted to throw up.

"Hey, are you okay? You look a bit green."

I took a deep breath and calmed my belly. Another deep breath and then I couldn't stop deep breathing.

Suddenly, I was very emotional. My face got hot (and probably went from green to really red), my throat got tight and my eyes started to water. I started hyper-ventilating and Angela started worrying.

"Bella? Bella, what wrong? Tell me."

And then I started sobbing.

"You're not sick are you? Why won't you tell me?"

My nose started to run and I had to sniff every five seconds or else I'd have snot all over my face. "Angelaaaa," I wailed between sobs. "I'm pregnant!" and then I put my face in my hands again, trying really hard not to end up with handfuls of mucus.

Angela was quiet for a moment before I felt her arms around me. "Oh, Bella, I . . . I don't know what to say."

What could she say? Sorry? Congratulations? I didn't know what I wanted her to say. I didn't really know why I was crying anyway. Was this a bad thing? Was it a good thing? It's not like I was dying but was I ready to have a baby? "What am I going to do?"

Angela let me cry for a whole hour, chasing Dr Jenks away when he came in with another patient. She patted my back and made me blow my nose and by the end of it all, Dr Jenks's waste paper basket was almost over flowing.

"I wanna go home," I sniffed.

"I'll take you home," Angela offered, pulling her keys out of her bag. "In fact, I think I'll stay at yours tonight if you want."

I just nodded, a fat tear sliding down my cheek.

She took my hand and led me out of the hospital, glaring at Dr Jenks like it was all his fault. As we got into the car I thought about something.

Sniff. "What about my car?"

Angela shrugged. "Don't worry about that right now. We'll get it tomorrow."

She drove me home and went back to her place to get some clothes and toiletries. I decided to take a shower while she was gone.

The hot water was nice on my skin and it helped me relax my muscles. But it wasn't enough to keep my mind off of things. What the hell was I going to do with a baby? I wasn't sure I ever wanted kids anyway. What was I going to tell my parents? How was I going to explain this to the people at work? They all knew I was single. Charlie was going to freak out.

The water went cold, making me realise that I'd been in the shower for too long. I also realised I'd been rubbing my still flat stomach and dropped my hand quickly. I wrapped myself in a towel and went off into the kitchen. I was just about to make coffee when I reminded myself bitterly that pregnant people can't have coffee. Just then, Angela walked in with an over night back that she dumped onto the sofa and came over to sit on my kitchen counter. "You feeling better?"

"No!" I grumbled. "I can't have coffee anymore."

"Oh right!" She nodded. "Why don't you have hot chocolate?"

"I don't have any."

She sighed and rolled her eyes at me. "Get dressed and stop moaning. I'll make you some chocolate milk." She jumped off the counter and pushed me in the general direction of my bed room. I'd just gotten into my pyjama pants when she came in with two glasses of chocolate milk. I was really y exhausted anyway, even though it was only seven, and I crawled under the covers and took my chocolate milk. Angela crawled into the bed with me and I rested my head on her shoulders.

"Angela?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I allowed to moan now?"

She laughed. "Why the hell not?"

"What am I going to do with a baby?" I took a sip of my milk and because it was so good I had to take two whole mouthfuls.

"You're going to love it, care for it and dress it up in silly costumes and take lots of pictures."

"But I'm not ready for that."

"You have a whole nine months for it."

Again, the hand was on my belly and for a moment, I couldn't believe that there was an actual person growing in there. "My baby won't have a father. What about that? I can't do this alone."

"Bella, you're not alone. You have me and your parents. Besides, you have to tell Jacob Black that he's got a baby on the way. He can't go around without knowing he has a kid somewhere. Call him."

I didn't like that idea. It sounded very risky, especially with that pitbull publicist he had looking for him. I bet this wouldn't be the first time a woman claimed to be having his baby. Would he believe me?

"What if he doesn't want to be involved?" This was one of those situations that could go horribly, horribly wrong.

Angela patted my arm as I took another large gulp of milk. "Well, then I'll be your baby's daddy. I wouldn't mind, really. I'll even smoke a pipe if I have to."

I started laughing at the image of Angela as a man smoking a pipe. It felt good to laugh. "Oh god, Charlie is going to kill me."

"Don't worry about him either. I have a plan for that."

Huh? "What's that?"

She shrugged. "The dad is that football player he likes so much. That way he can't be mad at you."

I rolled my eyes. I loved how Angela could make me smile when I was sad. "Great plan. He'd never watch football ever again."

"Well, that's his problem. And in the mean time you need to keep your stress levels low, eat right, exercise and stay away from Jane."

"Like I need a reason to stay away from that hag bitch." I put my empty glass aside and lay my head on my pillow. I let out a huge yawn as Angela lay down next to me like she always did since we became friends.

"Don't stress and go to sleep, Bella. Everything will work out. Just don't forget to call your baby daddy tomorrow."

I snorted at her use of "baby daddy" but I was way too sleepy to make a snarky comment. I drifted off while Angela took out a book to read. I had no idea how I was going to get a hold of Jacob Black because I didn't even have a cell number. I know Mike did something on him about an action movie he directed last year but he had the publicist's contacts. The thought alone if calling that woman made me want to shiver. She scared the shit out of me. I'd have to think of a way to dodge the middle man.

When I finally drifted off to sleep, I dreamt of myself standing in front of a mirror, my belly round and swollen. I had a smile on my face and I looked happy. My last thought was that maybe, just maybe I could do this.

Angela waved me over into her office on friday with a serious look on her face. I wondered what it was all about because, quite frankly, it was odd when she more than remotely serious. I quick walked over to her as fast as I could and closed the door behind me.

"What's up?"

She had her arms folded and she was leaning back on her desk. "So did you call him yet?"

I scratched the top of my head. "Called who."

"The father of your baby! Who else?"

Of course that's who she was talking about. "Well, I was just about to get to that but you don't know how weird all of this is."

"Bella, just make the damn call."

It was easy for her to say. How often did you have to call the random stranger you slept with a month ago to tell him that you were pregnant with his child? Not very often, I would think. So in theory, it was a very easy, very simple task to handle. But to hell with theory! This was real fucking life and I was scared shitless. "I will," I told her. "Eventually."

"Call him today, otherwise it'll just be worse. Imagine calling when you're already showing. I mean, just this morning your boobs magically grew a cup-size and you were basically spilling out of your bra. You're wasting time."

I shuddered at the thought, really I did, but calling under any circumstances scared me. Whenever I thought of Jacob Black, I always got that heated feeling. It was the weirdest thing ever.

"If you don't call him, I will."

I huffed loudly, really annoyed that she cared so much. Sometimes it would be nice to be neglected. "Okay, I'll call. But what do I say?"

"Tell him that you have to meet and talk and that it's very serious."

I nodded in agreement, though all I could think about was how vague and almost no help at all.

I went back to my office, very aware of the fact that Angela was following me, no doubt to make sure I did what had to be done. I'd gotten the contacts from Mike who, thank the lord, had Jacob's direct contacts instead of me having to call the Clearwater lady.

I fished through my drawer until I found the numbers and then picked up the phone. It rang three times before it was answered.

"Hello?"

The voice took me by surprise, smooth and husky at the same time. I started feeling hot.

"Uh, Jacob Black?"

"Yes?"

I took a deep breath. "Um, this is Isabella Swan. I need to talk to you."

There was quiet on the other side for a moment and then, "Okay."

"Not over the phone. I need to talk to you in person." And then out of nerves I added, "If it's possible."

Another moment and I watched Angela's face change from serious to curious. "Alright, where can I find you?"

"Redmond, Seattle?" I answered but it sounded like I was asking.

"Um, okay. I don't really know when I can get there but maybe I can make for Monday?"

I nodded like he could see me. "Perfect. Monday's good."

"Okay, then. I guess I'll speak to you Monday."

"Right. See you Monday."

There was a long quiet on both sides before he hung up. Angela pursed her lips and patted my arm with approval before giving me a minute to myself. So three days from now, I will be telling a stranger that I was having his baby. Let me say that I wasn't bouncing about in excitement. Fuck my life.

**AN: Alrighty then! Let's hear it!**


	7. Meeting

**An: You guys are just amazing, you know that? Where the hell would I be without you? Thank You so much for your reviews, they mean so much to me. So with that said, I write on! Enjoy.**

After my phone call with Jacob, I thought Monday was just around the corner. But as I settled into the weekend Friday after work, I realised just how far away Monday could actually feel.

Angela had decided she would stay with me until the end of that week and was becoming annoyed by my impatience with everything. To the point that I thought it was Sunday when it was actually Saturday, I was constantly pushing the time forward in my own mind. Time went way slower than usual: my weekends often lasted the blink of an eye and then were over before I knew it. Now everything dragged on by like a sack of potatoes being pulled by a tortoise. I didn't even know what it was exactly I was so eager to do. Something inside of me wanted more out of our meeting that just my informing Jacob of the pregnancy.

Since Friday, every moment I place my head down for even a five minute nap (which was quite often), all I saw behind my eyelids were dreams of me and Jacob. Some of them were vague and confusing but I knew he was there somewhere. Other's were clear as day and I could almost feel him they felt so real. At times I'd wake up hot with a very thin sheen of sweat over me and find that the only other person in bed was Angela, who'd complained about me talking in my sleep again. "You keep babbling about red silk or some shit like that." Or I'd find that I'd fallen asleep on the sofa and wake up a little confused before remembering I was in the living room.

A little part of me, I guess maybe the part of me that remembered that night a month ago, couldn't wait to see Jacob again, but I wasn't sure why. Or I did know why, I just didn't want to think about it.

So when I woke up Monday morning an hour than was necessary, I had just dreamt of Jacob. In the dream, we were surrounded by black, but it wasn't exactly dark, like there was a dim light without a source. There was also a lot of red. We were wrapped up in a sea of red, smooth silk that brushed so deliciously against my skin. This dream was confusing: it was one of the very clear ones, like it was all real but it was cloudy at the same time.

I felt the warmth and weight on top of me and the indescribable feeling that spread from my belly to the rest of my body as we moved. In the dim patches of light here and there, I could see perfect russet skin, spiked jet black hair and there was hot breath in my ear, whispering words I couldn't understand. And then, there was a point where, like standing at the top of an erupting volcano, I could feel the earth moving under me and a rumbling in the ground that matched how I felt between my legs. I was so close to that moment when everything just exploded into flames . . .

That's when I bolted up right in a sitting position, my tank top sticking to me and my hair matted to my scalp. I tried to calm my breath and soon I became aware that I was in my own bed again, between my very dull, very ordinary cotton sheets with just Angela still sleeping there.

I needed to shower before I actually burnt to death from the inside out.

In the beginning I had the water just a little colder than tepid because I wasn't trying to freeze my ass off but then I got sick of the lukewarm and turned up the heat. I stood there a while, letting every muscle in my back relax a little and I could breathe in deeply.

I'd gotten dressed to find that my boob were a bit sore and non of my bra fit me right. So I put on a blouse that buttoned up all the way to my collar and was ready by the time Angela woke up. She showered, dressed and ate quickly then we were headed out for work.

Once we were there, I wasn't very productive, getting easily distracted and drifting off in my thoughts. The afternoon was still very far away, and I was pretty sure time would continue to slag on by the more I thought about my meeting with Jacob. We'd decided to meet at a professional lounge in the northern part of Redmond and we'd have coffee there.

Why was I so excited? What was it that I was expecting from Jacob?

A group of us were going over last months issue, the issue that covered the Hollywood after party, sitting at Jessica's desk. Angela was just saying how hard it was to get a truly good picture when Jane decided she was going to strut over and comment.

"Whatever. You're just a bit lacking as a photographer."

Just the little girl voice she naturally had made me want to grind my teeth together. "Nobody asked you, Jane. Angela's really good. You haven't even seen her recreational photography so keep your mouth shut."

Angela had gotten me into scrap-booking. We had tons of albums scrap-booked between the two of us.

"Yeah, sure. Then why is she the only photographer this side of the world who didn't snap a picture of Jacob Black and his mysterious lady? Everybody was talking about it and our magazine doesn't even have a picture."

My stomach did a twisty flippy thing and I had to calm down with a sip of water. This was not something I wanted to come up while I was at work with my colleagues. I took another gulp of water and tried not to choke on it.

"We're not a weekly glossy, Jane." Angela sighed. "If that's your kind of thing maybe you should be over at Heat magazine. And besides, we've all gotten over it."

"Angela's right, Jane," Aro agreed, stepping out of nowhere and making us all jump in our seats. Jane, who had her back to him, winced before she turned to face him. "We are not a gossip magazine. It doesn't matter if Angela got the picture or not because it's irrelevant to what our magazine is about."

Even though we couldn't see her face, we all cringed at the smile in Jane's voice, so clearly forced and not genuine. "You're right, Aro. That's not what were all about." Then she turned towards Angela with a demonic smirk. "I'm sorry, Angela."

She excused herself from the group and walked off but we were all severely disturbed by the smile she'd given my friend. Ass-kisser.

"Well, that was not creepy at all," Jessica mumbled sarcastically under her breath.

"Well, I think you are a wonderful photographer," Aro said, fiddling with the sleeve of his pale grey pin-stripped suit. "You're all doing a wonderfully great job."

We all thanked him simultaneously as he told us to keep up the good work. Once he was gone I whispered to Angela, "That was too close for comfort."

"You can say that again. That girl has a sixth sense for trouble."

Jane really needed to clam the fuck down with the brown-nosing or I swear I was going to toss her out of the window. A few storey drop was good for some people.

While we continues out work, delightfully without any interruption from Jane, I couldn't stop myself from looking at the clock every ten seconds and it was driving me mad. At 11:55 I felt like I was going to rip my hair out of my scalp. The time was dragging and five minutes had never felt so long in my entire life.

Angela managed to distract me for a while and before I knew it, Jessica was leaving for lunch.

My head snapped back towards the clock and the moment I saw the time, I was half out of the room. Behind me, I could hear Angela's hysterical laughter and Jessica's 'What was that about?'

I took my car down to the cafe at a small shopping centre not too far from the office building. Within ten minutes was walking towards the cafe, my eyes search for the golden skin and black hair. I didn't see him at first and I started to think that maybe he was running late or something. But then a waitress asked me if I was Isabella Swan and led to the second storey of the cafe where it was less crowded. From here I could see the entire street. It wasn't exactly beautiful scenery but the free air and the quiet hum of the traffic made it a calming place where you could relax for even only a moment.

Out of the five people there, I could immediately separate Jacob from the others. His dress was similar to the first time I saw him: jeans, a shirt and a jacket, only that his jacket was black leather rather than a blazer.

I started fixing my outfit quickly then, I walked over to the table and he looked up from his menu when I was just a few steps away.

"Uh, hi," I said awkwardly and he responded with an equally award hello. I took the seat in front of him and pushed my chair in too loudly. The same waitress who'd brought me here took our order and was off.

"So how have you been," he asked.

"I've been good. Uh, very busy lately. How about you?"

"It's pretty such the same."

"Oh, that's good."

There was a painful silence then, that I could only describe as agonisingly awkward. There was no other word for it. So I tried again. I cleared my throat then said, "Thank you for agreeing to meet me."

He nodded. "Of course. You did say it was important."

"Yeah, it's very important and, uh, it involves the both of us."

"Okay."

I reminded myself to breath so that his dark eyes wouldn't make me feint. "So I, uh, I saw my doctor on Sunday because I was feeling a bit off and . . ."

He was nodding while I was talking and I had to look away from him and out to the street below. It was as if he knew what I was going to say already and I didn't like that. Again the thought of how many crazed fans had claimed to be having his baby crossed my mind.

"Well, after a few test," I looked back at him and his attention was on me, " erm, the doctor told me that there was nothing wrong with me. It's just that, um . . . I'm pregnant."

He seemed to have already accepted it, his hand running through his hair. His very quiet 'I understand' seemed a little distant, even for a stranger, and reflected the strain this put on him.

I wasn't sure, though, whether he believed me or not. But I added, "I'm not telling you this because I expect anything from you," and suddenly I was holding back tears that came from nowhere. "I just wanted you to know that you were going to have a kid somewhere and give you a choice. I can do this alo-"

I was surprised when his hand reached across the table and took mine into it. His hand was very warm and almost covered my entire hand. "I would never let you do this alone." His voice was low but very sure and firm. "I'm not that kind of guy. Don't you dare think that I'd leave you here while you carried a baby, my baby. I'm gonna be here, for everything."

I had to cry now, because I was touched and because I was hormonally unstable. I put my face in my hands and again I was surprised by the warmth of strong arms around me. He pushed my chair out and wrapped his arms around me as he knelt in front of me.

"I live here and you live in a whole other state." I sniffed on his shoulder. "What's gonna happen?"

"We'll work that out. Right now, I want to know what the doctor said. Are you okay?"

The abrupt sensitivity, affection and concern was somewhat overwhelming. It felt like we'd known each other a really long time, like we cared for each other on whole new level.

He pulled away from the hug to look at me and for a moment I wanted his arms to stay. I wiped the tears from my face and sniffed. "The doctor says I'm perfectly fine, just very stressed from is all."

"Listen, I have to fly back to California tonight but I'll call you and we can figure this out. But while I'm not here, I'll need you to look after yourself, alright?"

I nodded.

We talked more while we ate our lunch and soon my hour was over and I had to rush back to work. Jacob made me give him my number and email address and asked me if I would meet him at the airport at seven.

"Sure. I'll be there." And then I had to emotionally hustle my way back to work.

When I got back, I told Angela everything and she couldn't stop 'aww'ing and telling me 'I told you so' to the point that we didn't get very much work done the rest of the day. Jane glared at us as we knocked off, like she hated to see others happy, and Angela babbled on about learning to knit baby boots.

By seven I was at the airport, seeing Jacob off and he told me that he would be back. "Remember what I said. I'm not letting you do this alone. I want to be there." We shared an awkward hug good by before he had to board the plane.

Soon he was gone and I was driving back home. I immediately jumped into bed, too tired from the day's emotions.

That night I dreamt of Jacob again, except this time he was sitting in a rocking chair, holding a baby in a yellow blanket. He was talking to the baby but I couldn't hear what he was saying.

It was a nice dream and I slept very peacefully that night.

**AN: Sooooo? What say you?**


	8. Inner Conflict

**AN: Yay! It's another chapter! And double yay! It's another JPOV. What did Jacob have going through his head when he found out he was a "baby daddy." Let's find out.**

**Inner Confliction.**

So, I was going to be a father. I didn't know how to feel about that. I mean, it wasn't a bad thing but it wasn't really a good thing either. I couldn't exactly claim to know Bella, we were total strangers to one another. It made me wonder what it was like for her there in the doctor's surgery without someone to sit there with her as she found out she had a baby on the way. The truth was that I should have been there. As the father of that child I should have been there with her in that doctor's office. From now on, I had to be there for all her appointments and for whatever she needed. I had no idea how I was going to make that work between two different states but it my duty to make sure it happened that way. I was already behind on my duties.

I also wondered who else she's told. I know she hasn't told her colleagues or else the world would probably know. But what about her friends and family? Has she said anything to them? And if she did, are they giving her the support that she needed from them. I didn't like the idea that didn't have anyone to talk to or lean on, we'd never spoken about the people in our lives in the two times we'd met. I remembered how emotional she'd been that afternoon and reminded myself that I was supposed to be there comforting her whenever she needed comforting. I'd have to call her tomorrow and tell her that no matter what time it was she could call and talk to me if she needed. I really did needed to step it up.

I tried to ignore how my inner thoughts and my heart had more enthusiasm than that little voice in my head telling me to reason through this.

To say the very least about how I felt when I got off the plane back to California, I was tired. This morning, I'd had to rush about in the morning for a meeting with a script writer who'd thought his script was a master piece. You have no idea how many people came into the film making studio thinking they have a Blockbuster-worthy Oscar-winning script only to find they had nothing but a page with words. And not very good words sometimes.

Then I had to hurry because I was almost late for my flight trying to get rid of the script-writer Motzart. Once I was boarded, Leah had been using up all my phone's battery life briefing me about a interview that I had the next day. Just listening to her for a whole half hour made my head hurt at times. She was in a bad mood that day. Even worse was that on the flight back I sat right next to a woman who would not shut the hell up. She told me about her kids and how I reminded her of her son who was in jail. She told me about her failed marriage to a cheating husband and a whole bunch of irrelevant stuff that I eventually tried to tune out. I know she was on old lady and stuff but my mood wasn't allowing me to feel especially friendly today. So I didn't get to sit and relax for that whole hour.

Then there was the meeting with Bella. I mean, I sort of already had an idea of why she wanted to talk to me in person, though usually most of the women who claimed to have my baby would appear out of nowhere and threatened me that they would go public with the information that they I had impregnated them without ever having even touched any of them. That was the reason I believed Bella. That and the fact that she really didn't seem to be that kind of girl. Of course I didn't know her, as Leah so consistently pointed out , but I had a feeling that she wasn't like other women. She wasn't even like most magazine writers, not like the ones who hounded and followed and persisted like they would die if they didn't get a chance to talk to somebody _famous_ before the end of the day. The very first time I met her, she was relaxed and casual, as if I'd been catching up with an old friend. Now it was weird with us.

Now as I got off the plane and met Embry at the Arrivals Terminal B, I was very relieved to be back and I couldn't wait to get home to my bed. I had only been gone a few hours but it felt like days since I was at home. Everything familiar was missing and I just needed to get back so that I could relax and absorb the whole story all over again. Confused was not enough to express how I was feeling now. I though that this kind of thing wasn't something I'd have worry about, not that I' made it and excuse to jump from girl to girl or anything. It was just that they had been so sure, so convincing that I didn't think this could happen.

"Dude, you look totally spent. You need to hit the sack." I rolled my eyes at Embry as he started the car and we left the airport. "So, man, how did it go. Did you guys reach an understanding?"

I was tired and I didn't really want to talk anymore, but this was my best friend sitting beside me, who had volunteered to pick me up from the airport and driving me home even at the risk of getting caught in killer traffic and getting home late. I didn't like not talking to him. He had my back and I had his.

So I'd been kind of hoping that he wouldn't ask me about it and I would go on and tell him whenever I thought I was cool with it. It's not that I didn't want to talk to him, I just didn't want to talk about this for a while, maybe until the next day.

I let out a massive sigh, thinking about how to tell him what I'd learnt today at noon but I came up short. There was no way to say it without getting a strange reacrion. So I left out all the possible rambling I could throw in the middle and cut to the chase, which seemed to work, for a moment. "She's pregnant," was all I said and the word 'pregnant' sat there in the air, hanging heavily in the silence. Neither if us said anything and the only sound was the car's humming engine and the other cars on the road. I knew why he was quiet and just sat there and let him wrap his mind around what I'd just told him. True, to his nature he finally couldn't keep it to himself much longer. After ten long minutes he started talking again.

"What about what the doctors said? I mean, she's probably making it up like those other three crazy women."

I didn't know what to say to that. I knew I couldn't exactly give a good valid reason why I believed her but I did. Bella wasn't like the three before her. "She's not," I said flatly.

"Look, I know that maybe some part of you deep down inside wants this to be a possibility but . . .". He trailed off in the middle and seemed to be wondering whether to continue his sentence or not. He was being careful not to bring up too much stuff that I wouldn't want to bring up, so then he just started over. "Man, all I can say is that you have to look into it. Now more than ever. Call the doctor and ask."

"It's not necessary," and it really wasn't.

"Just check it out, dude. Be sure, alright."

I didn't reply and just looked out the window at the black night and the city lights flying right past us. Letting this conversation die was the right idea because it wasn't going anywhere good. Touchy subjects never go anywhere good. Like Quil, for example. Him and Claire, they were out of bounds and this situation with Bella will probably force it out of all of us at some point. Maybe, before I told everyone else, I could ask Quil for advice. Or maybe I'd just be opening up old, painful wounds. And what the hell was I going to tell everyone. My dad, my sisters, my other friends? Leah was going to tear my arms off and beat me with them. She was going to give me more trouble than Billy and the Twins. And God, Rachel was going to lecture me. I was doomed for a long talking to.

I just wanted to get home at that moment, where I could think and figure out what the hell it was that I was going to do. Not too long after, Embry pulled up in front of my home, the late night darkening it and making it look like a ghost house. I got out of the car with a quiet 'thank you' and a 'see you around' then rounded the car towards my house.

"Hey, Jake!" I turned to see Embry sticking his head out of the window. "Just look into it, okay. I don't want this ending in disappointment for you."

I nodded slightly. "Yeah," was all I said and proceeded to enter the house. I heard his car speed off as I went straight to the bedroom. I seriously needed time to think about everything and as I sat myself lazily on the edge of the bed, I decided that visiting the doctor wouldn't hurt anything.

I kicked my shoes off, tossed my jacket over to a chair and lay on my back with my arms behind my head. I stared at the white ceiling above me, thinking about the quiet car ride home. I know that Embry was concerned about me and just wanted me to be sure with Bella and everything and he was trying to look out for me, the way he always did. I just wasn't sure that this time I needed it. But he was right about one thing, part of me did want Bella to be telling me the truth, and majority of me believed her totally, but the logical side told me that maybe, just maybe, she was fooling me like a pro and I was falling for a trap that had been pulled on me so many times.

Except this time was different. All these other insane women, I'd never touched any of them. I'd never even met two of them but they'd all told me that they were pregnant with my baby. They were crazy women who were bored with their lives and had nothing to do but go around accusing every man they could set their eyes on of knocking them up on a 'magical night' that had never even taken place. Those were easy, despite how unreasonable and unwilling they were to just give up their fame or money seeking ways. Leah always took care of them thoroughly: which I imagined included her 'bitch brow', a few threats here and there and probably some physical torture just to reinforce her method. But when Leah was done with them they never bothered me again.

But this time, I had been intimate with Bella and the lord knows I had the proof for it. This time there was no random accusations of abandoning unborn children or ditching pregnant girlfriends. This time the woman had even suggested that she could raise the child on her own, that she would try manage without me. This time there was actual physical contact with another person.

But this time it was more impossible than those other times with those other women.

Because the last time I was in the doctor's office, I was told that I might not be able to have children.

**AN: Some of you might hate me for this but just trust me. All will be revealed in the next chapter or two. What do you think? Let me know.**


	9. Great Day

**AN: Oooopppsssss! Repeat post! Damn! I'm sorry 'bout that! I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry I took so long. I'm on holiday now and I kinda caught the lazy syndrome. I'm trying to get back into the writing. Don't worry, though, it shouldn't take me too long!**

**Well, here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Great Day.**

The day after I accompanied Jacob to the airport he called me in the morning. He seemed a bit distant, even for a stranger, especially since he was the one who called me. He just asked whether I was okay and stuff like that but it didn't sound like he was one hundred percent with me, like he had something on his mind. I asked him what was wrong but he just told me that it was nothing and that he'd call me again. Later that night when I'd just come home from work he called again like he said he would. This time he was more alive and somewhat enthusiastic. I asked him if he'd had a good day and he said that he'd gotten really good news about something he hadn't been sure about. I didn't ask but I was just glad that he was in a better mood. From then on he called me every night for the next two weeks and it made me feel closer to him. He'd always remind me to tell him a week in advance whenever I had a doctor's appointment so that he could fly up and be there with me.

Friday morning I was feeling lazy and debating with myself on whether I could afford missing work that day. I'd forced myself out from under the covers but was thinking up all the really good reasons that I should just crawl back into bed and sleep another two hours. I mean, for one thing, morning sickness sucked ass and some of the things I usually liked for breakfast just didn't do it for me anymore. I'd ended up eating large bowls of Cocoa Pops every morning. I was really starting to throw my guts up every now and again and it annoyed the hell out of me. It was just luck that I was always either at home or at Angela's. I didn't really care whether she saw me throw up or not.

As I dressed myself, I also was reminded that my B cup bra were no longer sufficient to contain my suddenly C-cup breasts, so I could hardly wear any of my blouses without feeling completely exposed. I had a hard time fighting off the perves of this world at places like Wal-mart or the gas station. I started wearing jackets over the revealing tops, despite the fact that it was August.

The drive to work was awfully routine-like and by the time I stopped at the first red light, I was already completely bored. I knew, I just knew, that this was one of those Fridays where nothing really gets done. I could already feel the lazy atmosphere as I stepped out of the elevator and onto our floor. I made my way to my desk, which was a whole mess of papers and files but I kept it that way because it made me seem like I was very busy. So as I was supposedly type, type, typing away at a so-called story, I was actually sitting with the phone between my ear and shoulder, talking to Angela and randomly browsing the internet. She was going on and on about what a drag the day was and how she needed some entertainment.

"Speaking of entertainment, how's your . . ." she lowered her voice to a scandalous whisper on the other end, "baby daddy . . . ?"

I rolled my eyes even though she couldn't see me. I got bored of what I googled and went back to the Msn home page to find something new.

"He's fine, Angela. And he does call, like, every night, so we do talk quite often. It's weird, you know. But at the same time, it's really nice. Though, it would be even better if he was . . ."

And then something caught my attention on the screen. Jacob's name was in big, bold white letters against a black background of celebrity gossip. I scrolled down past Ashton Kutcher to see that there was a picture of him walking into a hospital, face grim behind a pair of shades. I clicked on the _see more_ link and started to read the whole article.

_What do you get when you mix a director and a hospital together? Why a hit series medical drama, of course. And though we love our ER and Grey's Anatomy, we doubt that gorgeous film director Jacob Black is planning on providing any new competition for Patrick Dempsey anytime soon. That not so happy-go-lucky facial expression tells us that some serious shit is going down in the land of sexy and we're just hoping that tall-dark-and-handsome is alright. We don't want to lose another top quality Hollywood personality. So cross your fingers, ladies, and keep good thoughts for the dreamy director. If we're lucky, all we have here is a routine appointment on a bad day._

The picture was taken that first morning that he'd called me, when he didn't seem to all that happy. Was there something wrong with him? He would have told me if it was serious, right? But when he called that night he sounded very joyful. I could actually hear him smiling. So what was the story? I tried to think of what could have happened that had him at the hospital that he wouldn't tell me about. I knew I wasn't his wife or girlfriend or anything but he did knock me up so I needed to know if something was wrong.

I hadn't realised that Angela was still blabbering on the phone and she hadn't realised that I'd become preoccupied. I let her go on as I closed the window on the computer and rubbed my temples to prevent the headache I could feel coming on. I took a moment to pull myself together before I got too worried and stressed myself. It's probably nothing, I thought and decided that I would speak to him tonight when he called. If I really wanted to know what was happening, it be best just to ask him.

"Hey, Bella!" Angela hissed into the phone and making me jump in my head as she pulled me out of my thoughts. "Big boss headed for your desk at two o'clock! Abort conversation! I repeat! Abort conversation!"

I laughed suddenly at my friend's melodramatic personality and dropped the phone before opening a half finished article on Microsoft Word that I'd abandoned because it was boring. Angela's antics reminded me why she was so important to me: she could always make me laugh when I was down.

Aro was at my desk then and asked me if I could follow him to his office in his very boss-like voice. As I walked across the not too large semi-open plan office floor, I could see Angela peeking out from the kitchen with wide eyes and fighting a grin. What did you do this time, she mouthed at me and I had to look away or I'd burst out laughing for no apparent reason.

When we reached Aro's office at the end of the floor he asked me to take a seat and he sat across from me with the serious boss face that went with the boss-like voice. There was no trace of Angela's humour left in me and I sat as still as a stone. "Do you know what this is about, Isabella?" he asked in his very slight Italian accent and I shook my head.

"No, sir." I felt like I was being questioned by the police, like everybody felt when they were in Aro's office. The last time Angela was here she told me she felt like she was in one of those interrogation rooms you see on _**Law and Order**_.

He nodded. "Isabella, I remember when you first joined us here at La Donna magazine, young and almost fresh out of college." I don't know what he meant by 'almost' because I applied for the job just three months after I graduated. "And since then you've written some really beautiful articles for me, better than I expected from a girl as inexperienced as you were when you started."

Okay, this started off alright. But he sounded like a school principle now, starting off with all the good things about the student before telling them what they've done wrong.

"And you are a very hard worker, Isabella, I see that in you articles and your dedication to your job. That's why I want to give you Tanya's three page space of the magazine."

I blinked a few times as I stared at my boss. Well, this wasn't what I was thinking about at all! I'd actually forgotten about the whole thing. And now I had three pages for an advice column!

"Are you serious?" I asked as if he was telling me to move to China.

" Yes, Isabella. And I've decided that you can use the space for your very own column. It doesn't have to be an advice column."

My eyes grew wide with wonder and awe and I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. So not only did I have three whole pages of magazine, I could do whatever I wanted with those three pages.

"Well, what do you say, Isabella?"

"Oh my god." Was what I said. And then "Oh My God!" I couldn't stop smiling and saying thank you a million times over and over while I shook his arm out of it's sockets. In my head I was still 'oh my god'ing while Aro told me that I had two weeks to prepare a new idea, if I had one , and all the other little things Tanya had left for whoever got her place. I had to calm down before I left the office because Aro would be announcing the news to the rest of the office tomorrow, but as I speed walked back to my office with a massive grin on my face, I could see Angela look at me with confused eyes. I knew she'd be over at my desk soon asking me what had happened, but it was lunch in a few minutes so I texted that we should go to the sandwich shop down the street and I'd tell her then.

As I'd expected, she totally freaked out on me and had the whole of Seattle staring as she started 'oh my god'ing out loud! "You see! I told you you were the perfect one for the job! Didn't I tell you, Bella!"

She did tell me but I believe more for support than anything else. She always told I could do stuff that I very well knew I couldn't. She once tried to encourage me to dance but I very well knew that for the safety of myself and the safety of those around me that the most movement I should take part in was a side-to-side two step.

So after work, Angela bought grape juice to toast with and she stayed a bit for dinner before she went back to her place.

So I showered and got ready for bed with a self satisfied smile permanently sitting on my face. For some reason, my smile broadened when my phone rang and Jacob was on the other end.

"Hey,"

"Hey," he repeated. "How are you?"

"Amazing! You'll never guess what happened at work today! You remember that three page space I told told you about?"I was practically yelling into the receiver and probably damaging his hearing.

"Yeah?"

"I got it! Can you believe it! I have three free pages, every month, with my name on them!" His enthusiasm for me was appropriate and it made me feel all warm on the inside as I ranted to him about everything. I was so excited to tell him about my day that I'd almost forgotten to ask about the hospital.

"So how are you," I asked, my tone changing suddenly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm perfect," he told me and I sighed.

I told him about the article I. Read this morning and he reassured me that it was just a regular check up. "Really, Bella, there's nothing to worry about. I'm alright."

I had no reason not to believe him and I didn't think he had a reason to lie. And so my worries were put to rest.

"I also have some news, though," he admitted and I wondered if it was good or bad. "I've decided to look for a place there in Seattle so that I can be closer to you."

Well damn if my heart didn't swell up to five times it's size at that moment! I knew that the only thing between us was a baby but that was the most romantic thing I'd ever heard! My emotions got to me and my lip quivered and my eyes watered. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, sounding a little shy. "And I was wondering if, maybe, you would look with me. You know the place and I'll need some help."

A big fat tear rolled down my cheek as I 'awww'ed mentally. "Yeah. I'd love to help you look." I felt like I was living in a romance movie, I guess without the romance.

"Thanks. We'll talk more tomorrow, though. You need to get a lot of sleep! I'll call."

"Goodnight, then" I swooned with my face red as a pepper.

"Sweet dreams, Bella," and then he hung up.

That last line, that sounded so romantic too and I was practically drowning in my own happiness. To say that today was a good day would be a major understatement. He told me to have sweet dreams and I could almost be certain that I would dream of him tonight, if I could ever get over his words and fall the hell asleep. Our lives were brought together by a random twist of fate, a moment of passion that one night when we were drunk together. There was no love involve that nigh two and a half months ago and I understood that completely. But for a tiny split second, looking at the ceiling of my bedroom, I honestly felt I was momentarily in love with Jacob Black.

**AN: What are thinking right now? Tell me! Click the review button! CLICK IT!**


	10. My Friends

**AN: okay, I know it's been a while. Finals are around the corner and I'm super busy. I'll try make more time, though. Enjoy!**

**My friends.**

Hanging out at Jessica's place was just what I needed to get over all the pregnancy stress and work issues. For a while I could just be there with a group of friends and just talk. Friday night, Jessica's living room practically had no space left, not even for a single person. Mike, Eric and Ben from the floor below us at the building then Kate, Angela and myself were all sitting in her tiny apartment living room eating pizza, drinking cheap wine (well, except me, of course. I was having soda) and playing a few games. I never told Angela this because she'd probably strangle me, but I loved being at Jessica's place, sometimes more than her place. It was just so stylishly furnished, decorated and arranged yet managed to be comfortable beyond all reason. Her blue, white and green colour scheme was perfect, the way I wanted my place when I was a teenager.

It'd been a long week at work and I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. Jacob would be flying in from CA so I set up an appointment with Dr Jenks for eleven that day. After that we would go looking at a few places that Jacob had already looked up online. He would be here a whole week so there was no rush.

Aro had announced to the rest of the office that I'd be using the three pages of La Donna that had once had Tanya's by line at the very bottom. I needed to think about whether I would change the nature of the article or stick to giving advice, but I still had another week for that. I had a few ideas though.

After ordering yet another two pizzas, Ben had been telling us about this one guy he knew in school who turned out to be a crazy psychopath and ended up shooting out a whole grocery store for no apparent reason. "No one knew he was a nut case. We missed all the signs, even in school!" He was animated and gesturing with his hands as he told us the story. I really liked Ben. He was a great guy, quite the looker, and the only one of Angela's boyfriends I had actually approved of a hundred percent when they were going out. It's too bad it didn't work out for them. They were just too different but at least they'd managed to stay friends without any weirdness.

"Speaking of signs, what I want to know is why Ms Swan over here," Kate tilted the rim of her glass towards me and glared with sharp blue eyes, "has been acting so weird lately."

Then Jessica added, "Yeah! And by lately, I think you mean the past few weeks because I've noticed it too."

My brow wrinkled and I rolled my eyes. "What are you guys on about?"

Kate folded her arms stuck her face right next to mine. "You've been different and I want to know what's up? Don't deny it, I knew something was up when you turned down the cheap wine."

Hey! She made me sound like a low budget alcoholic! And as far as I know, I haven't been acting any different from my normal behaviour. "What do you mean I've been acting weird?"

"You're on the phone a lot now," Jessica started with a mouth full of pizza and Kate nodding beside her, "you seem distracted at work, you've become way moody . . . If you were married, I'd say you were having an affair."

And at that I had to threw my head back and laughed like I'd heard the funniest thing.

"Damn, don't tell her boyfriend that," Angela mumbled and I immediately stopped laughing to throw a confused look at her. Boyfriend? What the hell? The room went quiet and after a while, everyone was staring at me. I just sat there, blinking back at them.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"I didn't know that," Mike muttered, looking down at his lap and I felt bad and angry at Angela. She was watching way too much of that god damned soap opera!

What do I say now? I turned to Angela and scowl at her, fist clenched around my glass of grape soda. "Care to explain?"

She shrugged and humphed through a mouth full of pizza. "They were going to find out soon enough." What the hell was she talking about?

"So wait, do we know this guy? How long has this been going on?"

"Quite a while now." What in the name of all that existed was Angela doing. Where in the hell did she come up with a fictional boyfriend.

"It's Jessica's fault," Ben piped up playfully. "He's probably so ugly Jess would make fun of him."

"Or so good looking," Eric added, "that Jessica would always flirt with him!"

The two boys gawfed with each other like the complete morons they had the tendency of being.

"Remember when Mike first got here?" Kate added, thinking about the time Jessica had had the hots for shy old Mike Newton, who was so red right now, I thought his head might explode. "She was all over him!" Unlucky for Jess that Mike just wasn't interested.

Momentarily, the attention was off me and on Jessica so I mouthed "what are you doing!" at Angela.

"Helping you" she mouthed back but before I could ask her in what insane delusional world was this helping before Jessica managed to return to me with a frown. " So what is he like?"

"Oh my god, he's gorgeous," Angela gushed as I was about to say some thing. "He's tall, dark and handsome. And he's rich. Like, I mean, he is loaded!"

"Bella, I didn't know you were that type of girl." Ben squeaked and fluttered his lashes at me. "Is he your sugar daddy?"

Angela smacked him at the back of his head. "Shut up, broke and ugly. For your information, they have chemistry."

I thought that maybe Angela was in the wrong profession. She should be a writer like the rest of us. This talent she had for making up stories on the spot was getting on my last nervem

"Tough break, buddy. Maybe next time," Eric laughed while Ben rubbed the back of his head and grinned at Angela.

"Well, Bella, we want to meet him. Get him over here!"

I tried to think of something but couldn't, so I used the truth instead. "Erm, uh, it's a long distance relationship?" Was this a question? "He lives in California." Damn Angela was getting me in trouble.

"But don't you have any pictures on you?" Kate's hand flashed for my cell phone and I was too slow to get at it before her.

"Hey! Give that back!"

The truth was, I had no pictures on my phone except the few pictures with my parents and brother, Riley.

"I hope you don't have any naked pictures on there, Bella. Otherwise I might just have to confiscate them. Hey, Mike, I know what I'm giving you on Christmas! Ouch! Hey!"

Angela smacked him at the back of the head again while Mike looked away from my general direction.

Jessica leaned over to see what Kate was doing and they both frowned when they found nothing. "No picture? What kind of girlfriend are you?"

"Doesn't matter. Give the phone back!"

Of course, they ignored me and continued going through the phone. I had nothing on there to see so instead of stressing myself I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Ooooooh, Bellaaaaa . . ." Kate called my name in a long song note while Jessica giggled besides her. I cringed, wondering what they found.

"I knew it! Let me see!" Ben exclaimed and dodged Angela's hand this time.

"No way! Me too! Lemme see!" Eric piped in and they both flocked over to Kate, who flicked their foreheads with her long finger nails and held the phone away from them.

"No naked pictures, you perves! Go sit down or I'll ask Angela to make you sit down." Both boys sat back down, rubbing their brows like little kids.

"So Bella, who's Jacob, hmmm?" Kate asked raising her platinum blonde eyebrows at me. Oh good god of all that is holy! "Is he your boyfriend cause it looks like he calls you every day. It's him isn't it? Hmmm?"

"Hey! How did this turn into girls' night in? Can we talk about something else?" Mike spoke for the first time in ages.

"Mike's right." Eric nodded. "If this doesn't stop now, we'll end up watching _The Notebook or Titanic_ or some thing. New topic everybody!"

"Oh shut up!" Kate snapped.

I was all for the boys's idea. I was more than happy to get off the subject and talk about something else but Kate and Jessica were having fun ignoring me.

And then, to my complete horror, the phone in Kate's hands started ringing.

"Oh look who's calling, Jess! It's the mysterious Jacob!"

I jumped to my feet with a screech the same time Kate did and lunged for the still ringing in her hand. But she was too fast. "Kate, I swear if you don't give that back right now, you will regret it."

"Maybe I should answer," she mocked me from the other side of Jessica's couch.

"Don't you dare!"

She went ahead anyway and answered the phone. "Isabella Swan's phone, how may I help you!"

"Kate!" I yelled and chased her around the sofa. "Kate, give me my phone!"

She ignored me. "Bella's a little busy right now but if you want I could leave a message. But first, I wanna ask you,"

"Kate!"

"Is Bella good in bed?"

"Kate, I'm going to kill you!"Angela and Jessica were laughing their lungs out while the boys snickered. I threw a cushion at her but she dodged it so I threw two more at the same time. One pillow caught her in the side of her head. When she didn't react I grabbed the knife Mike had used to cut the pizzas and threatened her with it. "Kate, so help me God, I will stab you! Give me the phone!"

"Oh look! She just walked in! I'll give her the phone!" At that she tossed the phone in my direction and I had to drop the knife to catch it.

I walked out of the room with one last glare at Kate and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

The bastard's voice sounded amused. "Uh, hi. What was that all about?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. My friend's wanted to know who my mystery boyfriend was, courtesy of Angela."

"Hi, Jacob!" Angela yelled from the living room.

He laughed "So, am I your boyfriend now?" he asked playfully.

"That's what they think."

"Hmmm. I don't know how I feel about that . . ."

"Listen here," I said firmly but with a smile, "considering the circumstances, you should be my husband. You're lucky you're still at boyfriend stage. Until you meet my dad."

He scoffed. "Pffft! I'm not afraid of your dad! I'm easy to like. I'm a pro at likable."

He was feeling cocky today. "I hope you good with cops. No one handles a shotgun the Charlie does. He never misses."

Silence on the other end. Bet he didn't see that coming. "Oh. Damn, that changes everything. Erm, well maybe you could put in a good word for me before hand, you know. Butter him up?"

"Don't bet on it. You're a pro at likable, remember."

I loved how, just by talking on the phone every night, we'd become so casual and comfortable with each other, like we'd become close friends. It was perfect. I didn't want the baby growing inside of me to have parents who meant nothing to each other. At this point, I did care for Jacob and I could only hope that he felt the same for me. This way the whole situation worked out perfectly for everybody, including baby.

"I can't wait for tomorrow. I'm nervous and excited at the same time."

"You sound like you think he or she won't like you. I feel the same, though."

"Just promise me you'll take care of yourself," he reminded me like he did in every phone call. "Don't stay up too late."

"Yes, mom," I joked and he laughed. "I will."

"Alright then. See you in the morning."

"See you. Sleep well."

"You too."

And then the line went dead. I bit my lip and stood there for a moment, smiling to myself until Mike called out. "Bella, get back in here! Ben's taking all the pizza!"

As I made my way back into the living room, I realised that the two new pizzas had arrived and already had been half devoured by Ben and Eric. The smell of extra cheese and avocado strong in the room. I took my place next to Angela and watched Ben and Eric wrestle over the last slice of chicken and mushroom pizza. They were animals.

"Here, Bella, before the gremlins finish this one too." Angela handed me two slices on a plate, the smell so strong it caught me off guard and slapped me in the face with nausea. My stomach heaved and I shoved the plate back into Angela's hands and jumped to my feet. I dashed like mad to the bathroom and once it was safe, I threw my guts up. All the pizza and soda and other stuff I'd had before was coming back. Angela and Kate were beside me the, holding my hair back and patting my back. I could hear the others standing at the bathroom door watching. When the heaving stopped, I leaned my head against my arm and breathed through my mouth.

"Bella, are you alright?" Someone asked. With the uncomfortable feeling of my twisted stomach, burning throat and a mouth that tasted like shit, my mood had suddenly changed for the worst and I just snapped with abrupt irritation. Unthinking, I grumbled out loud, "God, I fucking hate pregnancy!"

Ooops!

**AN: Tell me what you are thinking!**


	11. Baby Pictures

**An: Hello! I'm here, but I have to make this quick. Please enjoy the chapter!**

**Baby Pictures!**

When I woke up in the morning, I felt grumpy as hell. I don't know what woke me up, but now that I was awake I really needed to pee. After looking at the ceiling lazily for a whole minute, I forced myself out of the covers, swinging my legs over to the side of the bed. I got up and cursed all the way across the hallway to the bathroom, yawning loudly. As I made my way to the toilet, I saw something in the mirror from the corner of my eye. Taking a step back in front of the mirror, I looked at myself carefully. Something was different.

My hair was a mess, tangled and knotted and I still had the sleep sand in my eye. My boobs were bigger but that was nothing new and my tank top had made it's way up over my belly button the way it always was in the morning. I couldn't find what it was that had caught my eye, everything was the same. I gave up looking for whatever it was that seemed different. I put my hand over my stomach and felt the very, very slight bump that was sticking out. I ran my hand over it again and again, turning sideways and then running a finger over as I watched it go over it like a small speed bump. Three months pregnant and I still couldn't believe it. I was just only beginning to show, but you wouldn't be able to see it under a layer of clothes. Maybe it was the supposed glow that came with pregnancy that I'd noticed in the mirror.

With that, I laughed at my own mental joke as I looked myself over again in the mirror. My face was embedded with the pillow wrinkles and my hair made me look like a fucking sasquatch.

When I was done in the bathroom, I saw that it was only seven and went back to sleep for another two hours. I needed all the sleep I could get after all the drama that took place last night at Jessica's place.

After my stupid slip, Tanya and Jess bombarded me with questions even though I was puking my lungs out. If it weren't for Angela and Mike, Oh sweet Mike who was just a gentleman always, getting me out of there and bringing me home. He didn't hassle me or ask me many questions. He just wanted to know if I was okay and he left it at that. It made me wonder why I never considered going out with him. It was probably not a good time for that now, anyway. _By the way, Mike, if you ask me out now, you get a free baby nine months down the line who definitely won't look a thing like you! Sound like a good deal?_

God, wait until I tell my parents about this. I haven't spoken to them in months and now I was going to have to tell them there's a baby on the way. Charlie was going to have a heart attack.

At nine I got up and took a shower. While I got dressed, Jacob texted me that he was on his way. He insisted on renting a car and driving, even though I thought I would just pick him up from his hotel and drive us to the Hospital. Angela would meet us there. She said she wanted to be there for "the kid's first picture." Go figure.

I got another message from Kate who, even though she was asking how I was, I could tell was hoping I would fill her in on what I'd said the night before. I decided I'd ignore her. At least until later though. I put on a pair of jeans, a loose top and by the time I was ready, Jacob called to say that he was outside.

"I'll be right down," I said before hanging up. I quickly went into the kitchen to guzzle down the last of the apple juice I had. Dr Jenks told me that it was better if I didn't eat a few hours before going in but to drink a lot of fluids.

Making my way down the elevator and out the front doors, I found myself confronted by a massive black Mercedes SUV parked right in front of the building, windows tinted and rims so shiny that I'd go blind dare I look at them out in the daylight. The man leaning against the car was tall and muscular, but in perfect proportion. Jacob's shades and leather jacket made him look like a typical on-screen bad boy, though, he was more gorgeous every time I saw him.

I rolled my eyes at him and tried to hold back my smile. "So which bad ass movie biker are you? And I think Tom Cruise wants his aviators back."

His resulting smile was brilliant and I couldn't help but do the same. "Oh my god! It's so good to see you too. It's been way too long," he mocked in a terrible imitation of a woman's voice. I stood there, only two and a half feet away, smiling like a moron. "You know," he continued, "I thought that maybe as the father of your future child, I'd deserve some respect. Well, I guess not." He shook his sadly as he stared at his feet and kicked an imaginary stone.

"Aww, did I hurt your feelings?"

He sighed and took a step right in front me. He was so tall I had to crane my neck just to see his face. " I think I might cry. You'd better give me a hug before I break down in front of all these innocent bystanders." He gestured to all the people passing us on the sidewalk. Not able to maintain composure, I wrapped my arms around his waist and placed my head on his chest.

"Okay then," I said. "Sorry I hurt your feelings."

"It's alright. You're forgiven. You look good by the way."

"Not so bad yourself. I'm glad you came."

We let go of each other and he opened the door for me. "Well, let's go get our baby's photo taken!"

Jacob was exceptional with directions and found his way to the little hospital easily. In no time were in the waiting room with Mrs Cope's loud chatter on the phone, filling in forms. We were there for a while, though.

A thought came to me, then, and I became curious. "Jacob?"

"Yeah."

"One question. What have you been telling your publicist. She can't be too happy about the whole thing."

He shrugged. " I haven't told her anything yet. She'll kick my ass!"

I snickered at that. I pretty much expected something along those lines. A publicist's worse nightmare: her famous client getting random woman pregnant. Talk about scandalous.

Soon, Mrs Cope was calling out my name throughout the waiting room. "Isabella Swan! Isabella, dear, the doctor will see you now!" God, she was so damn loud! Jacob and I got up and followed her to Dr Jenks's office and she still wouldn't shut up. I could see Jacob look at her like she was a total nut. Although, the thought's crossed my mind before. She was a lunatic. "Oh, Bella, I'm so happy for you! I didn't even know that you were trying for a baby, or that you even had a boyfriend. And he's so handsome too! Your parents must be so excited!"

Jacob, who walking right beside me, had his eyebrows almost touching his hairline. I grinned at him, and mouthed out the word 'handsome' while jutting my finger at him. About my parents, well. That was another issue all on it's own. I was relieved when we reached the double doors that led to Dr Jenks's office and even more relieved to have them between me and Mrs Cope's voice. Dr Jenks was at his desk and got up the moment we walked in. "Ah! How's my favourite patient and mother to be?" He held his arms open for a hug.

"I'm just peachy. Though, I'll bet you say that to all your patients."

"Only those named Isabella." He let go of me and I introduced him to Jacob.

Dr Jenks held out his hand and gave his best smile. "Nice to meet you, Jacob. Are you the father?"

"Yes, sir," Jacob said as he shook his hand.

"You sure?" the doctor asked with a straight face and then quickly said, "I'm just kidding!" and laughed. He was the only one. I stood there awkwardly as I watched Jacob let go of Jenks's hand and the veins bulge in his arms as he restrained his tightly clenched fist. All friendliness was gone from his face and I swear he looked like he was going to hit somebody. Dr Jenks was oblivious to the fact that his "joke" hadn't gone over well with Jacob and led us to the surgery behind his office. I knew the joke was distasteful but Jacob looked like he was going to murder the man. I could see a pulse in his forehead and the tension his jaw.

"Hey," I whispered. "He didn't mean it. It was a stupid joke." I didn't tell him this but I thought he was overreacting. I didn't understand why his reaction, why he took the words so personally and hoped that he didn't have an issue with his temper or anything like that. Just to make sure, I gave his arm a pat and assured him that the words didn't mean anything.

We walked into the surgery behind Dr Jenks and he had me sit on the gurney. A woman walked in with a lab coat and straight black hair. Angela rushed in right behind her, being her usual loud self. God, I was surrounded by lots of loud people today. It would be death to have her and Mrs Cope in the same room. "Did I miss it? You didn't start without me, did you! Oh good!" She looked like she ran a mile to get here, a little winded. "Jacob, I'm Angela! Great to finally meet you."

"Same here. Bella talks about you all the time."

Jacob's words made Angela beam. Like she was proud of herself for being a major topic of conversation in my life when I was with other people.

The woman who'd walked in and greeted us whispered something to doctor Jenks and he nodded before leaving the room. "So, you must be Isabella," she said to me and I nodded as she operated what I guessed was the ultrasound machine thing on my left. "I'm your ultrasound technician Carmen and I'll be showing you your baby today. If you would please lay back for me." She was friendly and her smile was genuine. I liked her.

"Here goes," I breathed and lay back on the gurney. Jacob took my hand and I looked up to smile at him as he put his other hand on the top of my head.

"Did you remember to drink a lot of fluids? You didn't eat did you?"

"There's not a drop of apple juice left in the state of Washington. We're good to go!" Dr Carmen lifted my top up to my chest and squeezed this blue gel right over onto my belly. It was cold as ice.

"God, that's freezing cold!" I shivered and I adjusted myself.

"Sorry," Carmen apologised. "I should've warned you. Um, I'm gonna use the transducer now, alright. Watch the screen right over here," she pointed to the machine.

Carmen placed the transducer on my belly and started running it around my and spreading the cold blue gel. The screen looked like black, white and grey specks moving around like on a weird black and white television, but I could see it clear as day.

Right there, right on that screen, I could see a baby. My baby. The head, the body, everything, sitting there in a cradle like area. My womb. I took a really deep breath.

"There you go." Carmen announced. "A perfectly healthy twelve week old foetus."

My heart became heavy and my face was as hot as a stove plate. Carmen moved the scanner over stomach, showing us what was where.

"There's the head . . . the spine . . . tiny little finger on tiny little hands and . . . Tiny little toes on tiny little feet."

My eyes pooled with tears as I watched the little baby on screen. It didn't seem real to me until just now. There was an actual baby inside of me. I bit my lip as I watched the screen, tears on my cheeks.

"And here . . . is the best part." Carmen pointed to a little pulsing dot on the screen. It was very small but just the sight of it made me gasp as I guessed what it was. "That right there, is your baby's heartbeat. 158 beats per minute like the healthy baby it is!"

"Holy shit, Bella. You have a baby inside you!" Angela whispered, speaking my thoughts. "You're like a sacred vessel or something."

"She's beautiful," Jacob muttered in absolute awe and I realised that I was squeezing the shit out of Jacob's hand.

"You think it's a girl?" I asked, sniffing now, too.

"I don't know," he replied. "I think I might want a girl."

Carmen turned the machine off and wiped off the blue goo from my stomach. "Would you like to know the sex?"

"No!" I said quickly. "I don't want to know. At least not until much later." Then I looked at Jacob. "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind."

"Alright then," Carmen sighed. "we're done here. We'll check the progress again in eight weeks again to make sure that baby is still healthy. If you stick around, we'll have the photo and video here soon."

I swung my legs over the edge of the cot and fixed my clothes and hair. Dr Carmen left the room for a moment and when she returned she had a brown envelope with her that she handed over to Jacob. "That's for mom and dad. I think we're done here."

I hopped off the gurney and held my hand out to her. "Thank you so much, doctor."

"No sweat. Just doing my job. Makes me feel like a super hero. I have to be off now though. Enjoy your pregnancy." And then she left. We we're not far behind and soon, we could hear Mrs Cope's gushing voice. We quickly made a run for it while she was busy with another woman in the waiting room. Once we were out of the building, Angela had a photo shoot to rush to. She tugged me into a real tight hug, squeezing the life out of me. "God, Bella, can you believe it? I'm gonna be an aunt!" I laughed so hard at that to the point of more tears in my eyes."

"Yeah, you are."

"I love you, Bella!" She said, pulling away. "And it was great to finally meet you, Jacob. I have to go now," she made her way back to her car, "So I need you to care of her while I'm gone."

"You have my word."

Angela turned around then and hurried for her car after yelling. "Good. I like you already."

"I'm right here, you know. And I'm not an object, I can take care of myself."

Jacob ignored me and led me to where he parked his car. "C'mon, I have to feed you before we go looking at places, you must be starving."

Actually, I was more along the lines of dying of hunger but I wasn't thinking about that. "I can feed myself," I pouted and crossed my arms.

"I know," he admitted, opening my door for me. "But didn't you hear Angela? I'm responsible for you now." And with that he shut the door and rounded to the driver's side.

The atmosphere in the car was very different from when we were at the hospital. At first I was just sulking playfully, hoping that he'd play along and crack a joke or something. I didn't realise that Jacob had other things on his mind and by the time I became aware of this, the tension was beyond me. Jacob's hand was wound so tightly around the steering wheel the veins were popping out of the back of his palm. He also had another vein throbbing above his temple and his brow wrinkled angrily. This realisation took me by surprise and I didn't know what to say. I was afraid to ask what was wrong or if I'd done something to upset him. I kept looking at him in the corner of my eye, trying to guess what had gone wrong. When the car topped, we were in front of the cafe where I told him to meet me that first time. He came round to open my door but I didn't move.

Looking at my hands in my lap, I asked him, "Why are you angry?" I didn't want to make things worse and had already decided to let it go if he didn't want say.

"Sorry?"

I still didn't look at him. "It's obvious you're mad about something. What is it?"

I heard him sigh but he didn't say anything. I wasn't going to push him if he didn't want to talk. After waiting long enough for him to say something, I got out of the car and shut the door. "It's okay if you'd rather not tell me."

I was going to lead the way into the cafe but he caught my arm, turned me to face him and pulled me close. "I'm not mad at you."

"Okay," I nodded, looking up at him as he towered over me. I could accept that easily but it didn't seem enough for him.

He sighed again. "I don't like your doctor. I think we need to find someone else."

"Oh." So that's what it was about.

"I think it'd be better if we had someone more respected, more professional. Like, the best of the best, you know."

Looking down at my hands again, I remembered his reaction when Dr Jenk made that awful joke, how livid he'd been. "If it's about what he said, I don't think he meant it. He was only trying to be funny and it failed terribly. It wasn't anything personal."

He pulled me to him and had my head at his chest, put my arms around him. "We just saw our baby," he said into the top of my head. "Let's not ruin it, we'll talk about this some other time, alright?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

"Okay. Let's get some food into your stomach and a smile on your face."

At that, I put away negative thoughts and grinned up at him.

**AN: Okay, I know this is long and I rushed through. I wrote my first exam paper today and tomorrow, I'm writing Afrikaans. It might be a while before I update again, but hang in there. Reviews please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: hey there, Twihards. I'm in the BEST MOOD EVER! I just cam back from watching Breaking Dawn Part 2 and it was perfect. It was the perfect finale and the best out of them all. My friend and I were crying at the end, it was beautiful and oh my god, I can't stop ranting about it! It was AMAZING! If you haven't seen it, it goes so far beyond anyone's expectations ever and I promise you that you will cry!**

***Cough* Oh, and enjoy this plain story compared to what my eyes just witnessed.**

The hug Aro had me in was very awkward for me. Though I'd known Aro a long time and he'd been good to me in the years I'd worked for him, I never really imagined myself getting a hug from him. I'd never seen him hug anyone, not even his wife! It was like getting a hug from Sheldon Cooper. I thought I'd go in, present him with my ideas and promise my first article by morning while casually slipping in that I was expecting. It did not go down that way. So when he let me go, after a million congratulations and telling me great job, I high tailed it out of there faster than dog after a bone. I'd had many awkward moments in my life but this was topping them all. Okay, I'm pretty sure I'd had way more awkward moments than that but . . . It was just weird.

I was making my way back to my desk but Jessica and Kate were still gushing at the ultrasound picture I'd given them after a brief explanation. So I diverted my direction and decided to park myself on the floor behind Angela's desk where no one would find me for a while. I didn't know where Angela was but I knew that, whenever she was away, she would be away for quite a long time. I just needed to have a moment of peace away from work people. It'd only been five hours at work, and there was still another four, but I was already wishing I could go home. I was tired and wanted so badly to sleep.

Yesterday, Jacob had taken me to go look at places. It was fun but I think after I found something with every place, he was starting to wonder. The one place we saw was this really posh looking town house just outside my area. It was great, actually. The gold and red colours so perfectly matched that, even empty, the house could look better any furnished space. The master bedroom had a gorgeous silver themed bathroom and a walk in closet. The kitchen had one of those centre islands that I'd always thought were nice to have and a pantry the size of someone's bedroom.

"So what do you think?" the estate agent asked and Jacob just turned to me, asking for my opinion.

"Well," I started. "I think it's really great. The colours and the space design are just amazing. But I wouldn't live here."

"Why not?" Jacob had asked.

"It's just that most of the windows face north and north east."

"So?"

I sighed. "The place will never get any direct sunlight through the windows. It'll be cold even in summer, let alone winter."

After that, the estate agent never asked me any questions about a place. Unfortunately for her, my opinion apparently mattered to Jacob, so even if she didn't ask me, Jacob did and I always answered honestly. There was one place that caught my, though. I told him he should keep it in consideration. It was also really close to me.

Sitting now, with my head in my hands and trying not to curl up and just sleep, I started thinking of my parents. I had to tell them eventually. I couldn't show up next visit all of a sudden resembling a planet. My dad. He might shot Jacob when he meets him. Or he'll want to but won't get the chance, being a cop and everything.

I wasn't sure how Renee would react. I know she's always wanted grandchildren but I don't think she meant right now. But, more than anything, Renee would throw me off a bridge if I got married young. She was so scared that I was going to jump into a doomed relationship without thinking that she'd warned me about it from the moment I was old enough to have a crush. And it sure as hell didn't help when that James bastard did what he did to me. She actually asked me if I ever wanted to get married at all.

Without thinking about it, I pulled out my phone and dialled my mother's number. I wasn't sure what time it was there right now but I just shrugged it off. It didn't take long for her to answer so I didn't think I woke her up. "Bella, my baby!"

God, I loved my mom. She always made me feel so special with the enthusiasm she had whenever I called. "Hey, mom. How are you?"

"Well I'm great now that you called. It's so good to hear your voice after so long." A few months to be exact. "I want to know all about what you've been doing lately."

Well where do I start? "There's so much to tell you mom. I wish I could just fly over there every weekend and just talk with you, you know."

"I know, baby. So what's new? Phil's just started with a new team, and I've redecorated the living room. I think you'd like it."

It was nice to hear my mother's voice. She was always had a smile in it, happy and laughing. I needed that right about now. But I didn't. Have a clue as to how I was going to bring the events of my life in the past month. So I started small. "I got a new space to write in the magazine. Three whole pages to write whatever I want." As much as I tried I didn't sound too excited about the whole thing. I mean, I was supposed to be excited about this myself but I just wasn't in the excited kind of mood with everything else on my mind.

"That's great, baby. I always knew you were a brilliant writer. Remember all those little stories you used to write for me?"

"Yeah, I remember." And then, suddenly, I thought of how I could ease into what I wanted to tell my mother, thanks to Angela. "And I met someone a while back," I said, and then thinking of a time line, I added "quite a while back." Lying through my teeth, I wanted it to seem like I'd known Jacob long before he managed to knock me up accidentally . . . This was a good kind of lie, right?

This got Renee really excited. "Oh! Is he handsome? I bet he's handsome! Does he treat you well?"

I chuckled to myself. My mom was like a teenager sometimes. "Yes, mom, he's handsome. And he does treat me well. Really well."

She spent five minutes squealing while I was hardly able to give the description of Jacob that she forcefully demanded. And then she asked me how serious we were and I laughed because, in truth, it was very serious between me and Jacob but not in the relationship sort of a way. Still, I didn't intend to let her know that. So I'd have to keep to little half lies or half truths. I didn't know which was better to say.

"C'mon, Baby, you can tell me."

So I said, "We're _very_ serious."

She didn't say anything for moment, waiting for me to go further into detail. And then when I didn't respond she cleared her throat.

"Mom," I paused a moment as someone passed Angela's desk. God, I didn't know what her reaction would be and I hated telling her over the phone. "Mom, I'm pregnant."

"Oh, Bella, I thought you were going to tell me you were getting married," she sighed with relief. True to herself, my mom's relief made me want to roll my eyes. I was pregnant, and that was okay with her. But getting married before thirty would have sent her in a mad frenzy, though thirty wasn't too far away for me. "Oh but so soon, Bella? Maybe you could've waited a little longer. I don't even look old enough to be a grandmother."

I laughed. "Mom, we didn't exactly plan on it happening."

"Oh, honey, after all those talk we had about being careful . . ."

I let my head drop on to my knees and moaned. "I know, mom, I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologise. There's nothing to apologise for. I just wish you were a little more careful."

Okay, it was going way better than I thought it was. Another reason to love Renee. "Mom, can ask you a favour?"

"Sure, baby, anything."

Sigh. "Please don't call Charlie about this. I haven't told him yet."

"I wouldn't dream of it!" She laughed. "That one is all yours!"

I laughed with her and just then Angela popped up, pausing and staring at me like the world had stopped rotating. My mom, I mouthed at her but she rolled her eyes and say at her chair, dumping a heavy looking bag between us. "Hi, Renee!" She called.

"Is that Angela? Tell her I say hi."

"I will. I miss you mom.

"I miss you too, Bella. You should visit me when you can. You and your boyfriend."

"Yeah. Well, I'll talk to you soon. I'll call."

"Bye, baby."

"Bye, mom." And she hung up. "My mom says hi," I told Angela as I got to feet and leaned back against the desk.

"And why are hiding here at my desk when you have your own?"

"No one would look for me here. I'm so tired I just wanna go home. I swear, I'm so glad Jane called in sick because if she was here I'd probably have thrown myself out that window by now."

Checking the time, I saw that I'd spent around an hour behind Angela's desk. I don't think anyone needed me or was looking for me, except maybe Kate and Jessica, who probably wanted to ask more questions. It's about time to kick them out anyway.

"So told your parents?" Angela asked. "Or were you just buttering her up?"

"I told my mom. Charlie might take some courage to build up before I even utter a word to him."

Clicking through the pictures she had stored on her computer, some of the both of us, she offered to go with me whenever it was I went to see him. Hopefully, she would be a shield from Charlie's shotgun.

I went back to my desk, where Kate and Jessica were not and decided to start on my writing. Only a paragraph through, I lost the feeling for it and called Jacob. I didn't greet him when he answered.

"I told my mom that you're boyfriend and it's Angela's fault." I laughed as Angela walked in at that moment, looking very confused.

"Why is it Angela's fault?"

"She put the idea in my head and now that's what I tell people. If I were you I'd give her a piece of my mind."

Angela placed an envelope on my desk before tossing the small stuffed teddy bear next to a picture of us on my desk at my head. She mouthed something I didn't quite catch, yelled hello to Jacob and stalked away.

"I think I can forgive her for that. I don't mind too much."

Hmm. " You don't mind that Angela is a liar?"

"I don't mind being your boyfriend. Though, if Angela has honesty issues, you should probably get a new best friend."

Once you got to know Jacob, he was quite an easy guy to talk to. I always found myself grinning, sometimes even in serious conversation. "Well, we have to go visit my dad soon. Like, for the weekend or something. As scared shitless as I am, I have to tell him in person."

He gasped in pseudo horror and made me laugh."And I have to be there? He won't shoot me will he? I still remember he has a gun."

I shrugged, more for own benefit, obviously. "I can't make any promises."

"Why don't you come over after work and we'll talk about it?"

I groaned loudly, thinking of the driving back and forth. "Wouldn't you rather come to my place?" I pleaded, then I wondered, "Do you know where I live?"

"No."

I gave him my address and directions from his hotel. He promised to bring chinese food and we hung up.

The day drags on slowly and on a regular basis, Kate walks in to ask another random question, like "how tall is he?" or "what car does he drive?" whenever she thought of one. By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I'd finished my first article and answered every question Kate could conjure. Though I was tired, I was looking forward to getting home to the quiet time time with Jacob. Lately I'd become allergic to loud places and loud people, making me crawl right into bed at the end of the day. When I got home, I took a shower and I was just putting on my boy shorts when there was a knock at the door.

"It's open!" I called out, pulling a tank top over my head. I quickly ran my brush through my hair and tied it up in a messy bun. I was starving and couldn't wait to eat something. "Jacob?" I called out when I found the living room empty.

"I've invaded your kitchen."

I could smell the chicken fried rice all the way from the hallway. I padded over to the kitchen, my stomach growling like the lochness monster, where Jacob was placing all the food on two of my dinner plate. "Oh, make yourself at home. You don't have to feel self conscious in my home."

"You said I could come in. Deal with it." He handed me a plate and I stuck my tongue out at him before leaving the kitchen for my sofa. I was eating before I even got to sitting down, stuffing my face. Goodbye table manners. My stomach groaned appreciatively as I ate, like all was right in the world. Jacob sat a glass of orange juice on the coffee table.

He watched me for a minute while I ate and shook his head. "No need to be a lady in front of me. I can pretend I don't fear for my life."

"You came into my home," I said with a full mouth. "Deal with it."

He laughed and I continued eating until I was full. Afterwards I was as happy as any man with a full belly. There was no feeling like satisfaction

"I hope you know I won't be letting you eat like that all the time," Jacob informed me.

"It's my house. I have a right to eat like a warthog if I want." I was trying to tease him but a yawn pulled itself out of my mouth as I stretched my arms out.

"Your lack of table manners is shocking but that's not what I was talking about. I meant that I'm not gonna let you go around stuffing fried noodles down your throat. I need you to take better care of yourself."

Another yawn. "I know. I will."

He held his arms out for me and I crawled into his lap as if we were lovers. He tucked my head under his chin, having me cradled like a child. "Now what were you saying over the phone this afternoon?"

"My mom wants to meet you," I said sleepily. "And we have to visit my dad one of these weekends. I don't want to wait too much longer before I tell him about us."

"Well, we're looking at places this weekend. Why don't I take you home the next weekend?"

I yawned again and my eyes drooped heavily. "Sounds like a plan."

He stroked my hair out of my face and I was so comfortable in his arms, I felt that I could sleep the whole night there. I don't remember much after that. I do remember Jacob carrying me to bed and kissing me on my forehead. I remember him whispering something to me but I couldn't recall what, so I decided I'd ask him another time. The rest of my memory consisted of a little baby from my dreams with black hair, golden skin and a beautiful smile.

**AN: I'm sad. I'm sad because it's over and all the actors will never be Bella, Jacob and Edward ever again. Kellan will never crack an Emmett joke and Ashley will never criticise Bella's dress sense. I'm so glad I was lucky enough to be a Twihard and Twilight will forever be my biggest teenage obsession, next to Taylor. I think I'm gonna cry again, I'm such an emotional wreck. I need Taylor to hug me!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: I am so tired right now that you'll just have to forgive me for posting without proof reading. I need to sleep! Enjoy the story.**

The plane landed before noon and even though I felt as if I hadn't slept in days, the moment I stepped off the plane, I already felt like I was home, though this was only Port Angeles Airport. As Jacob and I drove (another rental he insisted on), making our way to Forks, I remembered the road like I hadn't left home all those years ago.

I hadn't spent much time living with Charlie, only the last two years of my school career, but Forks quickly became my home after Phoenix. It was where I met Angela and Jessica but Angela and I conveniently became room mates in college and soon, best friends. Angela wanted to come too but she had to work the whole weekend. She might show up later, if she could.

Memories started to flash through my head as we made the town limits, the big Welcome To Forks sign was just the same as when I first moved here. Nothing had changed about the town, either. Forks High School, the Thrift way where I used to buy the groceries, the Diner Charlie and I sometimes went to together. It was all becoming very sentimental.

In no time, I was pointing out Charlie's little house, waving at a neighbour. I practically shrieked, approaching the house, when I saw my teenage pride and joy still sitting there in the driveway, exactly where I'd left it. By the time the engine cut off, I was out the car and checking my beautiful old red truck up and down, opening the door that wasn't locked and discovering the inside was exactly the same. It even still had some change in the cubby hole and a few pieces of gum. I wondered, though, whether it would start up or not. It seemed as though Charlie hadn't even touched it since I was last here.

"Bells?"

My father's voice made me whirl around and I saw him standing there, the way he used to my first few days at Forks, making sure I left safely for school in the morning. I ran, or more speed walked, up to him like I was a kid again and he caught me in a hug.

I know I was probably crushing the man's internal organs but I couldn't help it. It all took me back to my two years with Charlie. "I know you haven't seen me in a while, kid," he wheezed, "but could you hold off on the squeezing? I'm an old man now."

"Geez, dad! It's so good to see you! I missed you so much!" I say, letting him go.

He held my shoulders at arms length, looking me up and down. "That's what you get for not visiting your old man often enough. You haven't changed much, Bells. But you look different."

Because I'm pregnant, I said mentally but, I reserved that for later. Now was not the time. So I settled for "I'm not a kid anymore, dad."

I hugged him again with less vigour this time, and he commented on how longer my hair seemed. I completely forgot about Jacob.

"Erm, is that the boy you were telling me about? Your boyfriend?" He gestured over to the car where Jacob was unpacking the few things from the trunk.

"Yeah, that's him." As his daughter, I knew what my dad's expressions meant, and the slow nod combined with the narrowed eyes told me that he wasn't feeling much up to being friendly with Jacob. The last time I brought a boy home, Charlie had conveniently been cleaning out his shotgun at the dinning room table. "Dad, be nice. Not like the last time with Edward."

"I said on the phone that I would behave," he grumbled.

"Promise?"

His groan was more than comical, but I held myself back. I went over to Jacob, grabbing his arm and dragging him over to my father. "Should I avoid eye contact?" He whispered just as we got to Charlie and I choked back my laughter.

"Dad," I warned him with my eyes as I spoke, "this is Jacob. Jacob this is my dad."

"I've heard a lot about you, Chief Swan," Jacob said respectfully, holding out his hand. His. Hand was accepted with enough politeness that I could relax a little.

"Nice to meet you, Jacob." Charlie nodded. "You kids come on in and get settled."

We didn't need to bring a whole bunch huge suitcases, since I only had a week off. So Jacob didn't have any trouble carrying both bags with one hand. Charlie led us inside but from there, it was my job to get us to my old room. My dad was great that way. He didn't hover the way Renee did when I was around, fretting over ever little detail.

Even my room hadn't changed since I'd last been there. Pictures on the wall of me, Charlie, some friends including Angela and the rocking chair in the corner that my parents used to rock me to sleep in as a baby. My school bag still slouched at the foot of my bed, full of school books that I'd long stopped using.

The phone and computer I used to contact Renee via calls or emails. I felt like a seventeen year old all over again.

I walked over to Jacob, who'd set the bags down, closed the door and taken a seat on my bed, and he opened his arms for me to sit on his lap.

"You tired?"

"Mmm," I nodded. "I didn't sleep much last night. I wanted to finish something off for Aro before I left for a week." I was tired all the time now. Sometimes I found myself dozing off at work in front of my computer. Or other times I'd sleep as soon as I got home and only wake up a half hour late. The flight was so short I felt as though I'd only closed my eyes for a minute.

"You should sleep a while, then."

I yawned but refused sleep. "Not yet. I want to make my dad lunch and start on dinner. That way when we tell him later, we won't have to run for our lives."

He rests my head on his shoulder, cradling me like that one night before. "You can sleep for just a while. Maybe and hour."

I just shook my head. "No. I'll make you a deal, though. I'll make lunch, nap for an hour or two and then start on dinner."

"Alright then. Just don't pass out in the middle of the kitchen."

We went downstairs then and I caught up with Charlie while Jacob called his dad to say that he'd landed and that he'd see him soon.

I made grilled cheese and ham sandwiches while Jacob and Charlie sat at the kitchen table. I didn't know if I could trust Charlie to be on his best behaviour, though hadn't really been making any trouble. In fact, it wasn't going too well in the beginning, Charlie eyeing Jacob suspiciously and only grumbling at him. But then they seemed to be getting along quite well a while later after much effort on Jacob's part. I think it had something do with him bringing up fishing. If there was one way to steal Charlie's heart, it was probably fishing. I heated the stove plate and took the cheese and ham out of the refrigerator, slicing and grating while I listened as they started to warm up to each other.

"So how did my daughter manage to catch one like you?" Charlie asked and earned a dirty look from me and I glared at Jacob when he decided he though it was funny. So now that they were friends, they could laugh at each other's jokes?

"We met at a work function. Well she wa writing an article about it." Jacob answered and I snorted to myself and let out a huge yawn. Nice way to put it.

"Makes sense," Charlie mused. "You seem decent compared the other morons she's gone out with before."

At those words, not only did my face turn every shade of red brighter than a fire engine's, but I also dropped the spatula in my hands, sending it clanking loudly on the floor. "Dad!"

I was ignored. "Bella's brought home some serious losers before. Gave me a heart attack every time."

"Dad!"

"Oh, I've got to hear this!" Jacob said, his grin wide as his face.

"Jacob!"

Charlie chuckled. "There was this one kid, "

"Okay, this is not funny anymore!" It might have been amusing at first but now it was just ridiculous.

"Oh, alright. I'll be quiet," he grumbled.

Jacob, as I gawked at the both of them in disbelief, was completely unable to at least hide his amusement, almost on the edge of bursting with laughter. When I thought it was safe to turn back to the sandwiches, Charlie whispered to Jacob, "I'll fill you in later."

"I swear to god, I will purposely burn these sandwiches and feed you ashes!"

When the food was done, I set each plate down with as much force as I could without actually breaking them. I took a seat facing my dad and Jacob on my left, my arms crossed as I started sulking. I was going to get them beers but they could forget that and get it themselves.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Jacob asked, noticing the empty space in front of me.

"I'm not hungry."

The smile in his voice told me otherwise but he said he was sorry for laughing at me and that I should eat something. "C'mon. We're sorry, right Charlie?" Oh so it was Charlie now? Not Chief Swan. Well, hmph! If they wanted to be best friends that was fine with me as long as they left me out of it. They could laugh but not at my expense.

"Bella?" I felt Jacob reach for me and I scooched my chair aside. I looked away from the two of them, out the window above the basin.

"Bells? Are you crying?"

"No," I said quickly, even though I was getting there. My face was hot and my throat was tight. My eyes were pooling, almost spilling over. Somewhere in my head I could see that I was being beyond unreasonable but I couldn't hold back the sudden attack of emotion I was experiencing. I don't even know where it came from and why exactly. And on top of it all I was so tired.

"What just happened?" Charlie asked, sounding confused.

"Let me take of this," Jacob offered and that made me even worse.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here, damn it! God!" That's when I got up and marched out of the kitchen and out the front door, making sure to slam it as hard as I could. I stalked towards the forest behind the house and I could hear the door open and close and then footsteps.

"Bella!" I heard Jacob's voice call me. I didn't want to talk but I didn't run away either. He caught up to me easily. He caught my arm and I stopped walking, tears coming down my cheeks. "Bella? Bella, what's wrong?"

A sob escaped my throat and I couldn't speak, which was okay because I didn't have a proper answer. Instead I only buried my face in his chest as he held me and rubbed my back. "Aww, Bella, we were just fooling around. We didn't mean to upset you."

"I know," I manage to wail into his shirt.

"Then why are you crying?"

I shrugged my shoulders because I really didn't know.

"Well, that's okay. You just let it out and we'll go back inside when you feel better, alright?"

So I cried for a whole five minutes more before pulling myself together.

Charlie sat across from us in his lounge chair, giving us a suspicious look as we sat together on his sofa. I knew that he's some pretty hideous tantrums coming from me but what happened a few minutes ago was probably taking it to levels far beyond any teenage fit. I wasn't sure if I was sweating but I was so nervous it didn't matter.

"Dad, I'm really sorry about the whole emotional breakdown thing . . ." My voice trailed off at the look he gave me. Like he thought I had psychological issues. "Well, um, the thing is we have something to tell you. Something . . . big."

"Are you getting married?" He asked, knitting his eyebrows together. I swallowed hard, because I wished that were the case. Charlie could at least accept that. "Er, no. We're not getting married." His eyes narrowed at th both of us and Jacob shifted uncomfortably beside me. So much for best friends. "Well, dad, what wanted to tell you was that, uh, that I'm, erm, kind of pregnant . . ."

To myself I sounded like a rumbling fool and I probably sounded worse to him.

"Kind of a pregnant?"

"Yeah," I said, biting my lip.

He nodded to himself, letting the idea run around in his for a while. And then, "Well geez, Bells. Why didn't you just say so?"

**AN: Goodnight, everybody. Please review!**


	14. New Family

**AN: New chapter! *Yawns* I'm just gonna watch you guys do all the reading. I'm too tired. Enjoy.**

It seems that, lately, my parents had developed a slight tendency to surprise me over the years that I have been away from home. Not only had Charlie been perfectly accepting of the fact that my boyfriend that he'd never met had knocked me up, he actually seemed excited to be having a grandchild on the way. So rather than glaring and threatening to throw Jacob off a building, he spoke non-stop about my own baby years as well as Riley's. Every little thing from the days we were born to the days we left for college. Every achievement, every fall and scrape of the knee, every single temper tantrum and every little stunt we pulled as teenagers. Not a single detail was left out. And then, just we'd thought he'd said everything he needed to say, he pulled out the baby photo album, explaining the story behind each and every little picture. I wondered how he had so much stuff on me, considering that I lived with my mom in a whole different state for a huge chunk of my life.

At 11:30, I couldn't take it anymore and pointed out how late it was, making sure to add how it wasn't good for him to stay up too late if he was going to go fishing the next day like he always did when I was living with him. Jacob and I washed the dishes and turned off all the lights and heavily dragged ourselves (okay, well, Jacob carried me) up the stairs. We changed into our pyjamas and crawled under the covers. Jacob let me use his arm as a pillow, his body moulding into the curve of my back.

"No offence," he whispered tiredly into my ear, "but your dad talks way too much. I thought he'd never shut up." His other arm lay around my waist and he pulled me back closer to him.

"Not usually," I said, "I think he's just stoked about the baby. I've never heard him speak so much in my life."

The hand on my waist slipped under my top and ran over the little smooth bump of my stomach in slow, gentle circles. "Everyone is stoked about the baby. I can't wait for her to get here."

I smiled. "You still think it's a she?"

"It's more likely to be a she."

"There's a fifty percent chance it's a she!"

He kissed my cheek softly and said nothing, hand still on my belly. So I ignored him with a chuckle, yawned and closed my eyes.

"Bella?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I want a girl."

"Okay."

I don't know if he said anything after that because I was already drifting off. I had a dream, a dream I'd had before, of Jacob holding a little baby in his arms, except that this child was quite a few months older and so obviously a girl, her silk black hair almost at her chin.

When my eyes fluttered open the next day, the light coming through my curtains was nine o'clock sunlight. Jacob was awake, and his hand was still on my stomach running circles. He could tell that I'd woken up.

"You finally awake?" he asked me anyway.

"Mmm. It was a good sleep." Even knowing it was morning, I closed my eyes again because I was too comfortable to move even an inch.

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet my family today. La Push is just a stone's throw away."

Groaning, I removed his hand from my stomach so that I could turn to face him. I was momentarily stunned into silence when I realised he was topless but I quickly gathered myself. "Why didn't you wake me early," I whined, trying really hard not to stare at his bare chest. "I'd love to go!"

"We can still go. I just wanted to let you sleep."

Sighing, I climbed over his body, my hand on his chest for a moment and off the bed, grabbing my toiletries. "Well let's get ready to go. I don't want to get there too late."

"We have time," he said.

But I ignored him, rushed off to the bathroom and jumped right into the shower. I tried to make it as quick as possible without skimming through. I brushed my teeth twice and brushed through my hair twice as long and I put on some extra deodorant. I rushed back to my room and changed while Jacob was in the shower.

The drive to La Push took no more than ten minutes. In no time we were passing the houses and reservation limits. Close to noon we were driving up to a little red house almost near the centre of the reservation and it had four or five cars sitting outside. How many people were here?

"Is it just me?" I asked, getting out of the car, "Or does your dad have a lot of cars?"

Jacob came around the car and threw an arm around my shoulders. "I don't know what's going on here. I thought we were here to see only Rachael and Billy."

When we knocked on the door, a woman answered and a huge smile broke out on her face. She and Jacob looked so much alike, though she seemed older, but their features were the same, her's obviously being more feminine. She was only just a little shorter than Jacob and much much taller than me. What really caught my eye, though, was that they had the exact same bright, friendly smile.

"Hi guys! Oh my god, it's so good to see you again, Jake!" She hugged Jacob and then hugged me. "You must be Bella. So great to meet you. I'm Rachael."

"Hi, Rachael," I said awkwardly but with a smile.

"Well, come on in then. Billy's gonna be so excited to see you."

Jacob took my hand as we walked through the door. "So why do you have a whole car dealership in the front yard? I thought it'd just be you and dad."

She shrugged in differently. "We always have everyone over for lunch on Sundays. You'd know that if you came home more often. Unless you're afraid we'll embarrass you in front of Bella."

I laughed and Jacob waved her off.

"Hey guys," Rachael yelled to the other room, "Jake's here."

I swear it felt like a stampede was headed in our direction and when a whole crowd of people came spilling into the front room, I literally was surrounded. About ten people were around us, excited and laughing and I couldn't keep up with anything. There. Were "hello"s and "you must be Bella" and "so nice to finally meet you" and I didn't remember anyone's name. At some point a man came up to me and I knew that he was Jacob's father. They looked too much alike. He gave me a hug and told me how excited he was about meeting me but then another person was there at the same time and they were both speaking and it was all just chaos. Jacob must have seen how overwhelmed I was by his huge family because he came back over to me and put an arm around my waist.

"Well, don't all attack her at once. Sheesh, not a minute has passed and already you're trying to scare her off." Everyone laughed and there were collective sorrys that caught my ear. "Now get back in the living so I can introduce you properly."

Everybody filed back into the room the came from except Jacob, Billy and I.

"Sorry about that," Billy apologised. "They're animals, the whole lot of them."

"It's okay. I'll survive."

"Well then, let's go," Jacob said and we followed everyone into the living room. They were all seated around the the television and a game was on. Jacob tightened his grip around me and sighed. "Try to behave yourselves this time, guys, will you. Alright, now let's try this again the right way. Everyone, this is Bella."

"Hi, Bella," they all said together and I laughed because they sounded like an AA meeting.

"Bella, starting from your left, you know my dad Billy and my sister Rachael, next to her is her husband Paul, then next to them is Quil one of my best friends ever and his daughter -and probably my godchild- Claire; my cousin Sam and his way pregnant wife Emily; Uncle Levi and Aunt Lizzy, Sam's parents, Aunt Lizzy is my mom's sister; that's Seth, he's Leah's brother, the poor boy; their parents my Aunt Sue and Uncle Harry -who is Billy's cousin- and my cousin Jared -who is Sam's brother- and his girlfriend Kim. You got that?"

I stood there, eyes wide and blinking, only about three names sticking to my brain. So, naturally, all I could say was "Uh . . . Could you repeat that?"

They laughed again and Jacob kissed my cheek, making me go red. "You'll get it eventually."

For a while we stayed in the living room and I got to know some of the family. Seth, Billy and a few others knew my father. Harry had actually ended up going fishing the same day as Charlie once and they sometimes fished together. Kim actually reads our magazine sometimes and knows some of my articles.

After that the girls went off to help Rachael in the kitchen. As I stood up, Jacob wouldn't let go of my hand but rather he pulled me closer to whisper in my ear. "Don't work too hard."

Snorting, I pulled my hand from his and rolled my eyes, walking away into the kitchen.

It had been a little cold earlier on but so I had layered myself with clothes but now I was feeling flushed so I took my jacket and sweater off and left them on a chair in the dining room. The kitchen was quite small but big enough to fit Rachael, Kim, Emily and I all in without being squashed together. Emily was going to make muffins, I was going to make mac and cheese, Kim was making turkey sandwiches while Rachael was going to make a pie. I pushed my sleeves up passed my elbows and went over to wash my hands.

"So how far along are you, Bella?" Rachael asked, already putting the pastry base into a pan.

"I'm around fourteen weeks," I say, drying my hands and pulling out a pot.

"You're gonna start showing soon." Emily smiled, waiting beside me to wash her hands. "You probably have a tiny bump by now." Her belly was round and much larger than mine.

I take the packet of dry elbow macaroni and empty it into the pot then fill it with water. "It's there. I mean, you can't really see it but you can feel it there with your hand."

"God, why is everyone having a baby?" Rachael whined. "Now I want one!"

"Well, we didn't exactly plan on having a baby really. It was kind of an accident." This confession makes me red in the face and I try to keep my eyes on my work. But the others only laugh and continue with their work. "What about you, Emily? How far along?"

"Six long and tiring months. Let me tell you, Bella, you have a long way to go."

I sighed, leaving the macaroni on the stove and starting on the cheese and bacon. "I don't know if I'm looking forward to it or if I'm dreading it."

"Well, it's not exactly fun but it's just amazing, the whole bit of it."

We spoke about woman stuff while we worked, laughing and chatting. It wasn't long until my macaroni was in the oven along with Rachael's pie. Emily put her first batch of muffins in a second oven I hadn't noticed until just then. It was probably there for days like this, where food was mass produced in the space of a morning. Like a regular Sunday lunch for more than ten family members.

By 12:00 only Rachael's pie was sitting in the oven, waiting to be ready. I sat on the kitchen counter by the basin while the others sat on chairs facing me. We all were having one of the muffins and juice, talking about how I met Jacob, finding out I was pregnant and me obviously telling only half the story. I just happened to look out the kitchen window to see Jacob on the phone outside. He didn't seem too happy with whoever was on the other end and I turned away from him because it didn't feel right to watch him. It was probably work or Leah or something. So I went onto telling everyone about our doctor's visit.

**AN: What do you think?**


	15. Perfect

**AN: Jacob's POV! Okay, so I didn't get to go into much detail with Jacob's family except on Paul and Rachael's personalities. I might go over it in later chapters, though. Enjoy le story!**

The cell phone could almost have crumbled under the grip of my tensed fist as I resisted the urge to smash it to the ground. I struggleded to reel my anger back and tried to be patient. So when I spoke again, my jaw was clenched and my eyes were shut tight.

"Embry," I said slowly, "I'm not telling you this again. That baby is mine."

He was trying to be my best friend and look out for me and I could tell he was worried about me but it was bordering on unnecessary and invasive. I'd explained it all to him countless times but he just wouldn't let up.

"But you can't be sure. The doctor said you can't -"

"The doctor said it would be very difficult," I correct angrily, cutting him off, "not impossible. She's not lying about this!" I could almost see red, everything in my vision tinted bright with the colour, as the frustration built up. This conversation was getting very old very fast and my tolerance could only last so long. I had come to the decision long ago that the baby growing inside Bella was mine and Embry seemed very persistent in undoing all of that. I didn't know Bella that well but I don't think she would do that kind of thing.

The doctor had told me that, even though it would be difficult to for me to have a child it was very possible to get a woman pregnant the first time, if I was that lucky. Being with Bella, I've felt very lucky. I knew it was too soon for anything to have grown properly between us but I was already there, waiting for her to catch up if she wanted to. I felt something there in the way we were with each other but I also knew it would take some time, we didn't know each other well enough yet.

"Do you think Quil would agree?" Embry sighed over the line and I didn't have a response to that. It was a low blow, too far below the belt and I couldn't believe he would go there, use our friend against me like that.

I felt my fist and jaw clench again and I knew that if this conversation didn't end soon, some things would be said that could never be taken back, like that just then. I valued my friendship too much to let it suffer over something personal that didn't involve anyone besides Bella and myself.

"I'll talk to you when I get home. Don't call me." I said flatly and hung up, shoving the phone back into my pocket. I didn't have time to be in a bad mood. Today was supposed to be a good day and I wanted to keep it that way . . . for Bella.

I made my way back into the house just as Bella is coming out to call for me. "Lunch is ready," she smiles happily and takes my hand, dragging me into the dinning room. Everyone is already seated at our table which is covered in food. Bella sat herself between Seth and I, absolutely glowing beside me. I pushed Embry's phone call from my thoughts, determined not to ruin this with negative things. She took my hand eagerly as we said grace and even praying she was smiling brightly. I wondered, though, if I was the only one who saw her like this.

"Dig in!" Rachael announces when Sue was done praying. "But remember to save room for the pie."

True our nature, us guys practically attacked the table, piling mountains of food onto our plates and not holding back. I caught a glimpse of Bella's wide eyes from the corner of my eye and heard the other women laugh at her reaction.

"Okay," she mutters calmly to Rachael, who was sitting right across from her, but she was eyeing Paul in utter amazement, "I thought you were all just exaggerating."

Rachael shook her head sadly but with a smile on her face and a little chuckle. Just then, with a mouth full of mac-and-cheese and a piece of elbow pasta on his chin, Paul meets Bella's clearly puzzled gaze and has to ask so innocently, "What?"

Bella died of laughter beside me and the rest of us couldn't help but join when it only put an expression of extreme confusion on Paul's face.

The atmosphere was great, everyone talking and laughing and teasing. Mostly, people just asked Bella question about herself: her family, her friends, her job and all that. I actually learnt a few things I hadn't known yet like how she thinks she fools around with Angela more than she works or how she hates her eggs sunny-side-up, she only likes them boiled or scrambled. She loves her brother, they used to be close but ever since he started working in Australia they hadn't seen each other in ages. She missed him. She doesn't go out much except with Angela. She likes to read, her favourite is Jane Austen. She explains everything with a little smile on her face and she looks really happy.

I couldn't help it, I put my arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. Her smile at me was brilliant so I kissed her again.

"Okay, so I have to ask, though. How in the hell did you fall into that trap?" Rachael asked, pointing her fork at me with an incredulous lift of her eyebrow.

Bella laughed again and I love the sound of it. She'd been laughing a lot that day. "I mean, don't get me wrong I love my brother and all but this moron probably couldn't be romantic if a box of chocolates hit him in the head."

Paul laughed with his mouth full while Bella went totally red in the face.

"No, I'm being serious! How the hell?"

Bella looked down at her lap, smiling, then glanced sideways at me. "He's actually quite charming," she said shyly.

The collective "awwww" from the women and the "oooh" from the men was almost enough to drown out the gagging sound Rachael made from across the table. I ignored everyone and kissed Bella's cheek again.

"Okay, fine. That's not the answer I wanted. I'm never asking again. Agg, that is so gross."

Everything was perfect: I'm happy, my family's happy and Bella's happy. Everything was just the way it should be and I wouldn't let Embry ruin it for me, even if it was with the best of intentions.

"So Seth," Bella piped up, trying to change the subject. "Leah," she snickered, "is your sister. That must be, um . . . fun . . . " her words trailed off as if she couldn't stand how ridiculous they were.

I laughed at that. Bella had only met Leah once at the after party but it seemed to have left a lasting impression.

Seth, on the other hand, didn't know what to say to her comment without defaming his big sister. "Um yeah . . . It has it's moments."

"Does she know about your situation or are you too scared to tell her?" Sam asked, grinning wickedly while everyone laughed. Sam, having suffered much of Leah's temper and outbursts because they'd once had a beef with each other, knew first hand the demonic side of our cousin over the smallest of things.

Bella snorted loudly, waving him off with her hand. "We're alive, aren't we? What do you think?"

Laughter, smiling and happiness. That's what was happening all around me and life couldn't be better.

Once we were done with our plates Rachael cleared the table and served her pumpkin pie. It smelt good when she made it. She's the only one who could make it like our mom used to. Rebecca was useless in the kitchen.

I noticed Bella just as I was about to take my first bite of pie with her hand pressed to her stomach and her face looking pale, her smile faded. She was breathing through her mouth deeply and I put down my fork.

"Bella, you okay?"

She shook her head quickly then after a moment asked, "uh, where's the bathroom?"

I was just about to say when her hand flew to her mouth and her eyes squeezed shut. So I took her arm quickly and hurried her down the hall to the bathroom. She threw up over the toilet seat the second we got there and I held her hair back, whispering reassurances into her ear. I actually started panicking about it because I'd never actually seen her throw up before. I knew pregnant women threw up a lot but it seemed so severe to me that I wasn't sure if it normal to throw up that much. Rachael and Emily were at the door too, though by now she was just coughing a little.

"Is she alright?" Rachael asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Bella managed to say between coughs. "Can I get some water?"

She had a few more lurches, some making her throw up more and others false alarms,then when she was sure she was okay, she sat back and I pull her onto my lap and wiped her face off with some tissue Emily handed me. Rachael came back with a tall glass of water and Bella took small sips first before chugging it down more than half way. She moaned and placed her head on my shoulder. "This baby is going to kill me."

Paul appeared and peeked around from behind Emily, mouth full and muffin still in hand. "Well, jesus, Rachael, you cooking almost killed somebody!"

Bella let out a small chuckle and then after a while, she was laughing hard like she had at the table two minutes ago. Rachael smacked Paul over the head and his muffin fell to the ground. "Ow! What the hell was that for?" And Bella just kept laughing in my lap, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. I had a feeling that Paul might end up being one of her favourite people.

"You're sure that you're okay?" I asked her as she got up and I stood beside her.

She wiped the tears of laughter from her face and nodded. "Really, I'm okay, thanks to Paul."

Paul stopped rubbing his head and looked up to give Bella a huge grin. "Proud to be of service!" Then he turned to Rachael smugly and said, "See! I can be helpful."

Rachael rolled her eyes while Bella started laughing again. "Okay," Rachael sighed, "now I remember why haven't had kids with you yet. Jake, maybe you should get Bella away from this moron. Poor girl needs a break."

I led Bella to an empty room and told her she should probably lie down.

"I'm fine! Really!"

"I'll sit with you if you want. It'll make me feel better."

"Alright," she sighed, and carwled onto the bed. I let her rest her head on my chest and I ran my fingers through her hair. I knew she got tired easily and she was yawning in no time after all that work she did in the kitchen. "You should go excuse us from the table and tell everyone I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about that. They understand. And I think they like you."

"I hope so," she yawns again, "They're amazing! I always wanted a big family but it was always just Riley and me. We didn't even have cousins."

"Well, they can be your family too now, if you want."

"I do."

"And if you want," I add, "you could be my girlfriend."

"I am your girlfriend."

I was quiet for a second and took the hand on my chest, pressing it to my lips. And then I said, "I've been thinking. About us, I mean."

She lifts her head, moving to supporting herself on her elbow and looking down at my face, eyebrows almost touching. "What about us?"

"I was thinking, " I continued, sitting up and pulling her in my lap again, her hand still in mine, "that maybe we should, you know, give it a try. Being together." I waited for her to say something and continued when she didn't. "Maybe it's too soon for you, I get it if you feel that way but I'd like to really be with you, if your willing." I wasn't used to baring my soul out to people, not in the kind of work where everything you do and say could be twisted and published out for the whole world to see, to do with what they pleased. So I wasn't entirely sure I was doing it right. "I like being with you and being around you, holding your hand and holding you. I like the way you smell and the way you blush and smile. It's okay if you don't feel the same. I get it. But I'm just telling you how I feel."

I stopped talking, then, waiting to hear what she had to say.

"You really feel this way?" She asked, sounding unsure. She didn't look at me. She was staring at my

"A hundred percent."

"Okay," she said, wiping her face and I noticed her eyes. I could see that she has tears in them and I worried that I'd upset her. I pulled her chin so that she was facing me and I eventually got her to look at me with her big brown eyes. "Good," she smiled with a sniff. "Because I feel exactly the same."

**AN: Erm, yeah. So uh, could you, like, ya know, review and stuff. Um, yeah, thanks . . .**


	16. Quil and Claire

**AN: Hi guys. I'm so tired. I put some character background in this chapter. I don't know how well I executed but it's there. Enjoy le story. Bye . . . *snoring***

**Quil and Claire**

"Jacob," I tried to say, but his lips refused to retreat from mine and his name probably didn't sound the way it was supposed to. His arms circled around my waist as I leaned back against the kitchen counter. His mouth was persistent but welcomed without much of an argument on my part. I clearly wasn't trying _that_ hard to stop him. He'd been kissing me non-stop since that day he'd confessed his feelings to me, every chance he got. I wasn't exactly complaining but right then, standing in the middle of my father's kitchen where he could walk in at any moment, it was kind of inappropriate. "Jacob," I said again, turning my face away from him but he only ended up kissing the side of my face until his lips settled under my ear.

"But, you're really my girlfriend now," he moaned into my skin, making me close my eyes.

"I know that," I mumbled.

"And I'm your boyfriend." His mouth moves down to my neck and I'm unable to reply. "And boyfriends kiss their girlfriends as much as they like." And he was kissing my lips again. I let him. Not because his logic was making complete sense but because trying to resist him was just way too much effort for me.

"Hey Bells, do you know where my fishing jacket is?" I suddenly managed to push Jacob at least quite a few feet away from me just before Charlie appeared through the arch of the kitchen.

"Uh, I washed it," I said quickly. "It's in your top drawer. And your boots are on top of the washer in the basement."

"Thanks, kid," he said, not aware that Jacob had been all over me five seconds ago.

I shrugged and tried to seem indifferent while Jacob made suggestive faces when he wasn't looking. "No problem, dad." I turned away from Jacob and went upstairs to fetch my sweater. We were going to drop Charlie off at Billy's so that they could go fishing together with Harry. After that we were going to the beach to meet with the others. The days went by quickly and I got to know some of Jacob's family for a picnic. Tomorrow, I was supposed to be back in Seattle for an interns assignment thing or other and then Saturday night Jacob was flying out back to California. We still hadn't found a place for him, though.

I put my sweater on and brushed out my hair, but Jacob was standing there blocking the door when I was done. Like I expected he came over and kissed me for the millionth time in the last hour.

"Let's go. I don't want to be late," I said, taking his hand.

Charlie followed us in his cruiser to Billy's place. Harry was already there so there was one person he was familiar enough with that Jacob and I could leave him there and go straight to the beach. The others were already there waiting when we arrived.

"Hi, guys," I smiled as we reached the group of people.

"Bella!" Paul cheered, patting the space next to him. They were all sitting on towels around a fire pit circled by washed up logs that were meant to be used benches. Sam was grilling burgers with Seth a little away from the circle and Emily was sitting on a camper chair instead of the sand. Jared and Kim were too busy in their own little bubble to notice Jacob and I arriving. Quil and Claire were at the far west of the beach, looking like they were taking a walk. I placed myself on the spot Paul had indicated and dragged Jacob with me. He threw his arm around my shoulder, earning a huge grin from me and raised eyebrows from Jacob and Rachael. "How's my new best friend doing?"

"Only as well as _my_ new best friend is doing. I brought your favourites," I say, pulling a supersized packet of cheese flavoured Doritos out of the stuff Jacob and I bought. I'd learnt, the other day, of how how much Paul loved cheese flavoured Doritos. Rachael told me that they somehow always ended up on her grocery list while Paul pretended he was looking at something else.

He let out a high pitched yet appreciative squeal as I handed him the packet and he pulled me into his side, grinning hugely at me. "Jake, you can have your sister back. I want this one."

Rachael smacked the back of Paul's head while Jacob pinched the arm around my shoulders. "Hey! I was kidding!"

"Moron," Rachael muttered and I laughed, patting Paul's knee.

"Don't worry," I said. "We'll run away when no one's looking."

Jacob shot me a pained expression but hearing Paul's laugh was worth it. "Your chick totally digs me, Jake." He ducked his head just before Rachael could get to it.

"You're going to get yourself killed if you're not careful, Paul," Emily warned from her chair. "I'd watch it if I were you."

"Whatever," he shrugged, "Bella will protect me."

I played along with a nod, much to Paul's amusement. "My dad is a cop. I know stuff." I'd probably never say it out loud because it wasn't particularly a nice thing to say, but Paul was my favourite from Jacob's family. If there was one thing I always valued in the people around me was a healthy sense of humour. It was one of the reasons I was very good friends with Angela. She made me laugh.

"Paul, why don't you hand out the drinks before I stab you with something," Rachael suggested calmly.

"Fine," he groaned as he got up and brushed the sand off of his shorts. Then he grinned again. "Bella, can I get you anything?"

"Paul!" Rachael said firmly and he hurried off after winking at me. Rachael turned to me with a look of mock disbelief. "You know the man's an idiot. Don't encourage him."

"I'm never bringing her back here ever again," Jacob shook his head.

I moved closer to him and kissed his cheek. "I'm still your girl."

"Oh good." He kissed me again on the lips. "I'd hate to think what I'd do to Paul otherwise." His arm found its way around my waist. It's warmer than usual so I ended up taking my sweater off and leaving it in the car and there was a pleasant breeze felt nice on my skin. In terms of weather in the general area, it was quite a great day.

Jacob's phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, checked the caller I'd and rejected the call. I'd seen him do this quite a few times this week and wondered if it was Embry he didn't want to talk to. The other day I answered his phone while he was in the shower and it was Embry, who asked me, rather nervously, to tell Jake to call him back. When he got out of the shower, I gave Jake the message and he grimaced at the screen of his phone. "I told him not to call me," he growled angrily and left the phone on hmy bedside table. I didn't ask him about it. Now every time he rejects a call or let's the phone keep ringing, I guess it must be Embry he's ignoring.

Paul retuned with a cooler box under his arm, asking everyone what they'd like. Everyone ended up with a beer except Emily and I, obviously. We got orange sodas.

"I miss beer," Emily sighed longingly and rubbed her belly.

My nose wrinkled and I made a disgusted noise. "Eww. You actually like that stuff? I don't get it. Nobody has actually given me a solid explanation to the beer hype. The stuff tastes like shit." And honestly, Emily didn't seem like the beer kind of girl. Angela had once told me that beer had an "acquired taste" which didn't exactly explain why people started with it in the first place.

"I don't know. It's probably kinda like why people like vegetables," Paul said thoughtfully, making me smile. "I mean, come on, it's not like broccoli tastes like rainbows and sunshine or some shit."

"Okay, now that makes sense," I declared, glad that someone could explain the fascination with beer. The way I saw it, that stuff was down right disgusting.

"Which is disturbing," Rachael added, "considering it came out of Paul's mouth."

"I should have known you're a genius," I told Paul and his face becomes very smug very quickly.

"Why thank you Bella."

Rachael pinched the bridge of her nose while Jacob groaned beside me. That's when Claire runs up to our circle with her jeans rolled up above her knee and wet patches on the. "Unca Jay! Unca Jay!" Even on the tips of her toes she was shorter than me. She was adorable, really: her arms and legs were short and stubby and she had the common round face of a toddler and her hair curled around her hair, barely making it past her ears. She must look like her mother because I see no resemblance to Quil at all. Her hair is a darker brown than mine and her hazel-brown eyes are clear and bright against her pink cheeks.

"What's happening, little person." Jacob put his beer down so that Claire could grab his hand with her two tiny little ones and tug on his arm.

"Le's go! Le's go!" She bounced up and down, pulling on his arm with all her strength. "See the fishies! Le's go see the star fishies!"

When Quil finally caught up, he was a little out of breath. His sleeves and pants were also rolled up to his elbows and knees. He plopped himself onto the nearest log-bench with a huff. "Hey, guys," he groaned.

"Hi, Quil." To my own ears, I sounded a little too sympathetic, more than was necessary.

"Still can't keep up, can you?" Jakes snickered. "The little monster's got you keeling over."

Claire was still tugging on Jacob's arm, squealing about "star fishies" and pointing to the other side of the beach.

"She wants me to take her to the tidal pools to see the star fish. I came over to ask if anyone else wanted to come."

"I'll go!" I said immediately, bolt straight for any chance to visit the tidal pools again. Charlie used to take me when I was a kid. I was usually just the two of us bonding whenever I was upset or in trouble and Renee would make him talk to me. He never got too serious with me and our little private trips to the beach but I always had to pretend to be appropriately sulky.

"I'll go too!" Rachael joined and got up from Paul's side. I tried to get up too but Jake's arm stayed firm around my waist. He kissed my lips and told me to be careful before taking his arm away from me. I rolled my eyes and got up, dusting the sand off of me.

"You hear that, Claire-bear! Bella and Rachael are coming with us." He managed to pry the toddler away from Jacob and toss her over his shoulder. "Let's go, kiddo! The star fish are waiting for you."

Rachael and I walked side by side and let Quil and his screaming daughter lead the way while the little girls giggled and chortled about star fish and pretty colours. It was a bit of a climb but that was just for me and my genetic clumsiness. Claire was coping well enough without much help besides the hold of her father's hand. A toddler was a better hiker than I was. But the scenery was gorgeous: lush and green and alive with sounds of birds and insects and small streams rushing over rocky water-washed paths. There were quite a few butterflies here and there, their orange-red wings catching the sun and standing out against the green all around them.

And eventually, we did make it to the little tidal pools without me falling. Claire's squealing and giggling rang out through the trees and off the rocks as Quil carried her over to one of the shallower pools so that she wouldn't get too wet. The rocks stretched out passed the trees towards the actual ocean. On the calmer days like this, someone could actually walk along the grey-lime rock and watch the water disappear into the blue sky. Some of the pools did have Claire's star fish and quite a range of shells and sea coral growing against the rock. I rolled my jeans up to knees and dipped my feet into an empty pool with Rachael.

Claire and Quil played a colour game where Quil would ask her, "What colour is that fishie over there?" or "What about that sea shell?" and Claire would shout out "Gween!" or "Yewwo!" or "Blue!"

The best part about watching them was seeing how much Quil enjoyed playing with his kid. He looked like he could use an hour's sleep or two but his expression was genuine, totally psyched about playing with her.

"How does she have to much energy?" I asked Rachael, watching Claire jump up and down as Quil hands her what looks like a shell.

"She's three. It's just stored up in there waiting to be used. She gets grown men falling over in no time at all."

I thought of when the child inside of me right then would become an over hyper active three year old with a million silly little games bouncing around in their little head. I don't think I'd be able to keep up, running around all day. And for the first few years the kid was going to keep me up every night. But I guess Jacob and I had each other to help the other. Which made me think.

I looked up to see that Claire and Quil were a safe distance away before I asked Rachael, "So, where's Claire's mother?"

I could see by her expression that my question did not come with a simple answer. Okay, so I probably was being too forward. It was a personal question and I shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that."

"It's alright," she sighed. "I mean, you're family now, I guess, so you'll find out soon enough anyway. It's kind of a long story, though."

I felt bad, though. I suddenly spring a question like that on the girl and she probably felt like she had to tell me, even if it was personal.

"Well, firstly," she began, looking out towards the rock where Quil was still picking shells. "Did you know that Quil used to be an actor too? I mean, Jake, Quil and Embry all used to be in the same tv show, so they were all famous."

I knew Jacob had been a child start but I didn't know much else about that. By the time he was twenty-five he'd started directing movies and that's how I knew him.

"So they were all famous. They came home often and almost always they were surrounded by giggling girls all trying to get their attention. Jake and Embry loved the attention, playing the ladies' man, but Quil was more to himself when it came to girls. He wasn't very interested in them. Until he met Claire's mom.

"She was from right here, on this reservation. That's how we knew he really liked her: all those girls throwing themselves at him and he only wanted her. He was always calling her, buying her stuff, talking about her. He was in love with her. They were together for a year when she got pregnant and Quil was ready to marry her if she'd wanted to. They both decided that they'd get married after the baby was born. So, nine months later, Claire was born and Quil was practically floating instead of walking, like he was the happiest guy in the world. He was showing her off to anyone who would stop long enough to listen to him." It was suddenly quiet, except for Claire little voice and the trees blowing in the wind. Already, I didn't like the sound of this story. I was expecting to hear that Claire's mom died during childbirth or she fell ill or something tragic like that. "The day after she was born, Quil was watching her sleep through the nursery window and one nurse let it slip it was impossible that he was the father. She said their blood types couldn't have resulted in a type A baby."

Oh god. That was worse than what I was expecting. My heart did that twisting thing it does when the elevator drops too suddenly and I felt a little sick. "So Claire's not his daughter?"

Rachael shook her head sadly, still watching them in the distance. "No. When Quil went back to the hospital room to ask for an explanation, she was gone. All her stuff was gone, too, even when he got home. The closet was empty and her suitcases weren't there. No one's seen or heard from her since then. So Quil was left there, heart broken with a new baby that wasn't really his."

I wanted to say something but I didn't know what. The history behind Quil and his daughter wasn't what I was expecting. What could I say?

"We all took turns helping out with the baby because, at first, he was just so depressed with it all. He couldn't do it on his own. His father suggested giving Claire up for adoption but he didn't want to hear it. He decided he was going to keep her, even if she wasn't technically his. 'It's not her fault,' he'd said. 'She's just a baby. I'm going to keep her.' He tries so hard with her. That's why he quit Hollywood. He wanted to be good dad."

"He's doing such a great job," I said, because it was true. I haven't known him long but who could doubt the devotion the man had to his child.

After that, Rachael and I were quiet. Even when Claire was done with the fish for the day, the trip back to the beach was quiet.

When we got back, Sam's burgers were ready and I was absolutely starving but I couldn't help but watch Claire and Quil through the corner of my eye as everyone around went on with their conversations. I wondered what was going to happen when she was old enough to start asking questions. What was he going to say to her?

"Is everything okay, Bella?" Jacob asked me quietly, bringing me out of my thoughts. "You're quiet all of a sudden."

"I'm fine. Just a little tired," I lied.

Too soon, it was getting late and we had to get going. Our flight back to Seattle was at seven and I hadn't finished packing. We said goodbye to everyone: I got a special hug from Paul and Claire gave me a high five. We went back to Billy's place to say goodbye to him as well, promising to visit again soon.

Charlie was a little more difficult to say goodbye too. He followed us to the Port Angeles Airport to send us off. He was so emotional but we never were very good at expressing our feelings to each other. After I managed to get free of his hug, we boarded the plane and I was half asleep the whole flight. Still, the whole way home, I was thinking about Quil and his daughter Claire.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: this is a rushed JPOV and I'm off to bed! Enjoy.**

Bella had her face buried into my chest and I thought she might have been crying. We just stood there with her arms around my waist at the Airport terminal. My flight was just about to board and she wasn't letting me go. "Don't cry, Bella. I'll be back before you know it." She didn't say anything. She only shook her head. The gates were about to close and if I didn't leave at that moment, the plane would definitely have left me behind. "I'll call you everyday and every night. You won't even notice I'm gone."

She mumbled something into my shirt that I couldn't hear. "Bells, I didn't catch a word of what you just said."

She peeked up at me, her brown eyes all red and watery. " I said that these are pregnancy tears. I don't know why I'm crying like this."

"Well, I have to go now. Or I'll end up walking back."

"I'm gonna miss you," she sniffed, a fat tear falling out of the corner of her eye and I wipe it away with my thumb halfway down her cheek. She stood on the balls of her feet to kiss me then she let go of me.

"I'll miss you too. Promise to take care of yourself, okay. I'll only be a few hours away."

"I promise. Now go away before I start breaking down." She turned me around pushed me all the way to the designated gate for my flight. I kissed her one last time and reminded her not to work too hard before I boarded.

I really didn't want to be on other flight after flying into Seattle the day before but Leah had told me that she needed me back as soon as possible. Apparently, the problem wasn't an over-the-phone kind of problem. We needed to address the issue in person. Or that's what she told me.

Once I landed I took a cab home, showered when I got there and then I texted Leah that I would be in tomorrow. Also, I had a few things to take care of before I could go back to Seattle.

All I wanted to do was sleep but I called Bella first to check up on her. Right after that, I lost consciousness.

The morning came way too soon but not soon enough. In the short little time I had, I'd become used to sleeping with Bella next to me: her body warm against mine and her soft hair against my cheek. It was weird now, sleeping in an empty bed. So now I was in a bit of foul mood and on top of that I had to face Leah and Embry and they were the last people I wanted to be around right now.

On the drive to work, I thought about taking a break from movies for a while. I didn't have anything waiting for me at the moment. Maybe I could just leave for a year or two, stay with Bella and our baby and maybe if I still felt like it I could come back. Though, that depended on whether Bella wanted to come with. I wasn't moving away from my kid.

Walking into the building and bumping into people I worked with, I tried to keep my arrival as quiet as possible, even using the stairs instead of the elevator just to put off talking to Leah. If I had my way, I would get away with a few hours alone before she even knew I was there.

Well, I didn't get my way.

Leah was waiting for me at the bloody and, because it was my lucky day, Embry was there, too. Leah seemed chilled enough, as chilled as Leah could be, but Embry was more on the nervous side. So I guess there was no way for me to predict the palm of Leah's hand striking across my face.

"She's pregnant?" she asked me calmly with her arms crossed.

Rubbing my cheek, I glared daggers at Embry because he'd had the audacity to tell Leah without warning me. The temerity to have told her in the first place. What gave him the idea that he had the right.

"Yes," I said stiffly and walked through the door, not slamming it in their faces like I wanted to, because I knew Leah was faster than that.

"And she says it's yours?"

"It _is_ mine," I corrected her, sitting at my desk and turning on my PC. I didn't look at her. I didn't need to see the scepticism on her face. It was still morning and was as tense as a fireman after a busy day. On a scale of one to ten my stress level was fifty.

"According to her or did you get a paternity test?"

"According to me."

"Get a paternity test," she ordered pointedly, she wasn't asking me.

"I'm not doing that. The kid is mine, conversation over."

I heard her come over towards me and in the corner of my eye I could see her leaning over my desk. I didn't have time to pay her any mind. There was a lot of stuff on my desk that I needed to go through: proposals, movie scripts, release dates and a whole bunch of taxes that would be pain in the ass to put off. I had emails to answer and people to call back. At this point, work was more appealing than dealing with Leah, the taxes included.

"Get a paternity test," she repeated simply.

"No. Besides, the child isn't even born yet."

"Well, that's the point, isn't it," she sneered. "Better to know before your name's on the birth certificate."

"I'm not asking Bella to stick a needle into our baby."

"I'll ask her for you," she offered and I was finally appalled enough to shoot her a look. Was she insane.

Let me tell you, it wasn't easy to keep my voice level, to avoid yelling at her. "No, your going to stay the hell away from her. And pre natal paternity tests were dangerous the last time I checked. There's no way I'm doing that her."

"Done some research, have you? Well, it's a start, I guess."

"It's just what I've heard!" I groaned and it went quiet for a second, then I said, "Now get out before I throw you out."

She stood up straight and walking away, she paused at the door and asked, "Were you ever going to tell me?"

"Go away, Leah."

She just laughed, disappeared through the door and from the hallway she yelled, "I'll be there to say 'I told you so!' You can count on that!"

Throwing my arm over my eyes and leaning back in my chair, I took in a huge breath. I held it in for a moment then let it out, all the while being aware that Embry was still standing in the door way, having not said a thing since I'd gotten there. I didn't look at him, I didn't move my arm from my face, I just swivelled my chair around so that I was facing away from him towards the window.

I didn't say anything. He didn't say anything. He was waiting for me to speak, I was waiting for him to leave. I didn't want to acknowledge his existence right at that moment.

Eventually he sighed, " I had to tell her, Jake. I mean-"

"When I said get out, I was speaking to the both of you."

It went silent again for a second then he continued. "I'm worried about this and I'm worried about you."

"I don't want to hear you," I groan with a tight jaw and my hand curled to a fist on my knee. "I don't want to see you. I don't even want to smell you anywhere near me, right now. We'll talk when I'm ready and don't want to smash your face in."

He didn't try to speak again. He only sighed and then I could hear him shuffle out of my office, closing the door gently.

Jesus, I wanted to break something!

I didn't see neither Leah nor Embry for the rest of the day and I manage to get some stuff done. But the best part of the day was going home and calling Bella. I told her about Embry telling Leah but I left out the whole paternity thing. The last thing I wanted to do was give her something to stress over or put pressure on her. I just wanted her to rest for now.

"So she bit your head off, did she?" she laughed at me. "That must have been real crappy."

"I almost jumped right on to the next flight back. I swear I did."

She sighed on the other end of the line and she sounds tired. "You should have."

"It's only been a day. I'll have to be here for a while before I've taken care of everything."

"How long is a while?"

"I'm not sure. Not less than a week."

She groaned loudly, not liking the sound of what I was saying. "Just get back as soon as you can."

"Trust me, Bella. You don't have to convince me. The moment I'm done here, I'm flying right back."

She told me about the intern she was assigned at work and how she wasn't expecting much from the file she'd read. In a way, I felt better hearing her complain instead of worry about my own problems.

Excluding my phone calls with Bella, the rest of the week was just as nightmare-ish. Leah was still on my case and one morning I found a stack of papers on my desk, all information on prenatal paternity testing and how it can be done safely. I didn't read them. Instead, I put them through the shredder. She'd emailed me links to websites and doctor's references. I deleted them all immediately. We didn't speak in person for a while and Embry didn't show his face at all, which was one thing I could be grateful for. I just needed to focus on getting back to Bella and my kid.


	18. Aweay

**AN: so sleepy. No proof read. No mercy. Enjoy.**

I'm huge. Okay, so I'm not exactly huge but the flat plane that used to be my stomach was protruding from my mid section in a way that even clothes can't cover up any more. I'd have to wear quite a few sweater's to cover up my bump but it was still too warm in the beginning September time.

I could feel my pants and shirts growing too tight and I was absolutely dreading maternity wear. I'd always thought those stretchy-waisted jeans were the ugliest things I'd ever seen. I decided that I'd stick to dresses for a while and maybe those maternity tops that flared out from under my breast, which still hurt by the way.

Eighteen weeks down the line and baby was starting to move inside me. Not a lot though, but every now and again, I felt the movement. He or she kicked a little too. It felt like little taps on my stomach but from the inside. One night at her place, Angela got really excited when I put her hand on the side of my belly where baby was kicking.

Even though my stomach was still relatively small, I was noticeable and the atmosphere at work was different. People at work, especially those who didn't know in the first place, became fascinated with my growing stomach, wanting to touch it, asking how far along I was, is it a girl or a boy and stuff like that. The new interns were shy at first but they joined in soon enough. On the up side, though, everyone was nicer. My intern, a North African Benjamin, had taken it upon himself to treat me as though he was my assistant, getting me things, giving people my messages and stuff like that. I almost never had to leave my chair. And then the other's brought me lunch sometimes, Anna from accounting made me cupcakes, some of the woman who already had kids brought me pregnancy magazines, Angela and Kate wanted to throw me a baby shower, which I insisted would have to wait until Jacob came back. All in all, my colleagues were all over me.

Except for Jane.

Naturally, Jane despised anything that took away the attention she was very convinced she was the centre of. And to add salt to her wounds, Aro was particularly fussy over me and she hated it. Now that I really think about it, for as long as I could remember working there, the magazine had never had one of the ladies pregnant. Probably before me there were a few but none while I was working here. Everyone here who had kids, had children around ages eleven and up, older than my job here. So I was a novelty in the work place. Jane never asked about my baby or anything and I guess I preferred it that way. I wanted that psycho bitch as far away from my child as possible. She only glared at me when she could and clenched her jaw when she had to speak to me. Luckily for me, the general population strived to keep her away from me, Benjamin taking all her messages from me.

Benjamin was more fun to be around that I'd first expected. The file I'd read on him gave me the impression that he was arrogant and annoying. His CV listed way too many hobbies for someone to be bearable. I thought he was making it up. He collected coins from all over the world, apparently, and according to him he played the violin. I didn't believe that one person could have ten odd hobbies at the same time and be constantly active in all of them. But he was very talented and not as loud as I thought. He was very sweet, polite and a real hit with the ladies. He was charming with his gentlemanly tendencies and the slight Egyptian accent he still had even after being american since his adolecence. I tried my best to keep my co-workers and the female interns an appropriate distance away from him. He was still young, early twenties, which was way below the minimum age I'd give the women I worked with.

He had brought me some poppy seeds one day, since gardening was one of his hobbies, saying that they would be a great way brighten up a nursery if I wanted them.

"I don't have the first clue about plants," I'd told him, not sure what to do with poppies.

"They pretty much take care of themselves," he said. "All you have to do is water them. Tell you what, I'll start them out for you and you can take over once they break surface. How about that?"

Yeah, I loved my intern.

Jane wasn't as lucky as I was though. Her intern Marissa was a little on the slow side and Jane's frustration was everybody else's amusement. The day before she'd photo copied the blank side of an information sheet and returned it to Jane like that. Jane blew her lid and started yelling, calling the poor clueless girl horrible names that I would never repeat to anyone.

It was Friday and as usual, work was slow. Angela spent most of the day sitting with Benjamin and I while we pretended to teach him how the front cover is organised. Her intern quit the day before after she accidentally spilt some coffee on Jane's blouse and Jane let her have it. The kid was absolutely traumatised. Jane's intern was too dumb to quit.

After work, we all went back to my place. Mike called in sick that day so he wasn't there. Having Ben and Benjamin in the same room got a little confusing so Angela suggested we call Benjamin "Pharaoh" instead. Jessica thought it was stupid but the rest of us like it.

"Soooo," Eric slurred drunkenly. "We still haven't met the baby daddy. Where is he?"

I ignored him and said, "I hope someone is driving him home. He might not make it home tonight."

"Answer the question!" Kate demanded and pointed her well manicured finger at me. "Where is the ellusive Jacob!"

"Did I not tell you he lives in another state. And he was here, like, a whole two weeks and you didn't see him then either so please."

"He was here?" Jessica asked me with wide eyes. "And you didn't even think to introduce him to your friends?"

"What kind of girlfriend are you?" Kate finished, making me roll my eyes at them.

"So you guys have never met him?" Hbenjamin stated rather than asked. "Oh, good, now I won't feel left out on the subject."

"I've met him," Angela declared proudly. And then she added, "He's hot."

"And my baby's going to be beautiful!" I smiled.

"So don't you have pictures of him anywhere? I mean, you are having a baby!"

"Because," I said like a child. "He's my secret. Kate, I've seen you around gorgeous men and my kid needs a dad, thank you very much." She stuck her tongue out and gave me the finger. But then I said, "You'll meet him soon enough. I mean, he has to be at the baby shower!" I grinned, watching the smile spread across Kate's face as she leaned in closer to me.

"We'll get to meet him?"

"If you can keep your mouth shut, then yes."

Eric pointed his finger at me like Kate had just a second ago, except that he wasn't exactly pointing at me. He was off a few inches to the left of me and he wasn't actually looking my direction either. So facing the lamp on the table next to my sofa, he said accusingly, "What do you mean," hiccup, keep her mouth shut?"

"I'll tell you when your sober. You're so drunk I think it'd be unhealthy to sit next to you."

I knew he'd reached the point of no return when he starting laughing for no apparent reason. "I'll drive this moron home," Jessica sighed and Benjamin helped them out the door. He was back sooner than I thought.

"You know what?" Ben piped up suddenly. "If it's a boy, I think you should name the kid Ben."

"I like that name," Benjamin nodded as he returned to his seat beside me. "It's a decent name."

"It's majestic," Ben continued, now rubbing circles around my belly button.

"It's a name of honour, it is a name of legends. It really is a good name."

I blinked at the two of them, Angela and Kate having their own conversation between themselves. "By any chance does Ben mean idiot in some language I'm unfamiliar with?" But they didn't get to answer because just then my phone rang in my increasingly tightening jean pocket. I got up, pulled it out of my pocket and made my way to the kitchen as I answered it with an enthusiastic, "Hey, Jake!" I grabbed a cupcake from the refridgerator.

"Hey. How are you holding up without me?"

I rolled my eyes. "Not that I would die without you but this is getting frustrating. Three weeks is way too long."

"I know," he sighed ruefully, even as he asked, "Is the baby still kicking?"

"Yeah. More now than durning the day but never too much." And then I said, " I wish you were here to feel this." My hand found it's own way to the side of my stomach.

"I hope that's some sort of fruit you're eating," he said just as I took a huge bite from my cupcake. I wondered if I had a guilty expression on my face.

"It's a pear," I lie and he accpets the answer but he didn't really seem to believe me. He didn't have to watch me all the time but Angela made sure she did now that he was away.

"It better be."

"When are you coming!" I whine. "I miss you."

"Don't worry about it. I'll probably be home for your birthday.

"Oh good!"

He wished me good dreams and a restful sleep and I returned it. I went back to my seat with the Bens. The made me laugh while teased me about having an imaginary boyfriend who knocked me up. The Bens liked that, though. Soon it was late and everyone had to go home. I showered and got into bed and I knew I'd wake up no sooner than noon the next morning.

I was already drifting off the moment my head hit the pillow, thinking about things like labour, peach and apple purity and how great a dad Jacob would be. My last thought, though, right before my brain switched was that my birthday was in two days time.

**AN: Tired, sleepy. Please review.**


	19. Kicking

**AN: You guys are just so understanding. I've been so busy with Festive parties and family get togethers that I haven't exactly been able to put much effort into my updates but tou guys are all so patient. Thank You.**

**This is just a quick update before New Years Eve festivities keep me too pre-occupied to update. I might take a while to update after this but I will try my best. So, Enjoy and have a Happy New Year!**

Angela picked Jacob up from the airport because I was feeling a little tired. It wasn't a big deal but she insisted that I should stay home and she'll get to the airport.

"You just take a break and I'll be back soon."

Take a break from what, you ask? I have no idea. I hadn't done anything tiring and it was still early evening. Angela and I did go out a bit in the morning but we only went for breakfast and that was about it. Now I didn't feel like doing anything. I felt really heavy and becoming an independent planet wasn't exactly helping.

Jacob called before boarding his plane, telling me he found himself in the middle of cameraman county. "They were everywhere," he'd said, sounding frustrated an tired. "I barely made it out alive." Angela told me that it was because they were expecting some singer from American Idols or whatever.

I was just changing into my pyjamas when Angela sent me a text to say they were coming up and I heard the door open in the other room as I pulled up my shorts. My speed walk more resembled a duck waddle as I hurried out of my room, around the corner and over to Jacob. Angela was in the kitchen. He opened his arms open for me. I waddled right into them, tossing my arms around his waist.

"Hey there!" He put his arms around my shoulder. His smell and the feel of him was comforting.

"I missed you," I said simply.

"I missed you too." He kissed my cheek then held my shoulders to look me over. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," I yawned. "Just tired." My eyelids were drooping and I felt like I was going to fall over.

Angela appeared from around the corner with a palm-full of vitamins and a glass of orange juice. "Take your prenatals and get to bed. You look like zombie."

I meant to make a sarcastic remark but I only managed to yawn with my hand held out. I took what she gave me and gave her a hug before she left. Jacob took over where she left off and hurried me into bed. "I need to take a shower and I'll be right with you." It was only around seven now, quite early for bed but I was way too tired to argue.

I was half dead when he came back. He was shirtless in sweatpants and I placed my head on his bare chest. He ran his fingers through my hair and kissed the top of my head. "It feels so good to have you next to me again."

"Mmm," is all I could manage but I get the smell of him when I breathed in. I could feel myself slipping away and before I knew it I was dreaming. My dream was made of streams of colour floating smoothly against a white sky, like strips of paint dancing in clear water while I watched. I didn't understand it but it was beautiful so I let the colours fly around me.

When I woke up at one in the morning, it's because the baby is kicking more than usual. He or she is feeling a little hyper, I guess, because it was now a little painful. I winced a little but mostly, the pain was bearable.

It occurred to me, then, that Jacob hadn't had the chance to feel the kicking. I moved away from him so that I could sit up. Leaning against the headboard, I reached out to shake his shoulder. "Jake! Wake up! Jacob!"

He groaned and stirred for a moment then he was still again. It took me a while to get him to open his eyes. I could only just make out his expressions in the dim light but I manage without too much difficulty. He was confused for a minute, not too sure what was going on, but when he became aware, he shot up with concern asking me what was wrong, his hands fussing all over me. It didn't help when I winced at a kick and he worried that something was going wrong.

"Jacob! Calm down, I'm fine! Nothing's wrong!"

His hands were on my face then, trying soothe me. "You sure? You're not in pain or anything?"

I took his hand from my cheek and kissed it. "I promise you, I'm fine. I just wanted you to feel something."

He was confused again, so I placed his hand under my top and on the side of my belly where baby was kicking. His hands were really warm. From the the outside the kicks felt like soft little taps against your hand but from the inside the kicks were quite painful.

I held Jacob's hand to my stomach and I moved it when the kicking moved. "Can you feel that?"

"Yeah," he said, quietly, not looking at me but the at the place where I held his hand. "Yeah, I feel it. It's . . . It's amazing." He was in complete awe, even placing his other hand on my stomach. A smile spread a across his face, wide and genuinely fascinated. By now, he'd learned to follow the kicking and his hand moved on it's own. "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't usually but now it only hurts a little. He or she is bit more active tonight."

He shifted closer to me, so entirely wrapped up in the little pats against the palm of his hand. "This kid here is a black belt!l"

Just then, hard hit me in the side and I winced a little. "Yeah," groaned. "You're telling me."

For the first time, his eyes met mine. I couldn't really tell in the dim light but I think he might have had tears in them. "Jesus, Bella," he breathed. "I didn't think it would be like this. I'm so much happier than I thought."

"I know what you mean." I did. I knew that that having a kid would make me happy, no matter how it happened I'd be excited and it be a great experience. But with everything going on and how unexpected it all was I didn't think I would be as happy as at that moment, in the dark with his hand pressed against my stomach.

Jacob's arm slid as far as it would go around my waist and he leaned his face into mine, kissing me very gently. "Bella?" he whispered when he pulled away.

"Yeah?"

"I think I want a boy."

I laughed quietly in the dark, rubbing the side of my belly. "What happened to wanting a girl."

"I don't know. But I want a boy know." He shifted onto his elbow so that he was facing my stomach and put his other hand under my belly button. "You hear that, kid? You'd better bring a spanner with you. I'm gonna teach you to fix cars."

My smile was broken by a yawn and I suddenly remembered how tired was. Jacob helped me lie back down on side and let's me use his chest as a pillow again. When he wasn't around it was a little more difficult to sleep on my side. I was used to having there and I usually had my one leg thrown over his. I slept better now with him there.

I woke up close to the afternoon and feeling hungry as all hell. I could eat anything that was put in front of me. I could hear the shower running from across the hall. I got up and padded into the kitchen, going straight for the refrigerator. I pulled out the orange juice and poured it into my gigantic coffee mug. I made myself a bowl of Cheerios and put on the little Tv I got for twenty dollars at a yard sale. _The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl_ was on.

I didn't notice the shower going off but Jacob came around the corner with nothing but boxer shorts on. His hair was still dripping, water running down his temples, down his chest and I tried desperately not to choke on the cheerios, or the spoon for that matter. I thought his legs were sexy, too, and I wasn't even a legs kind of person.

"You finally got up," he stated with a smile and he looked like he'd just stepped out of a Gillette commercial for shower gel or after-shave or something like that.

"Yup, I'm up," I nodded, trying to seem indifferent. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"It's Sunday," he shrugged and I failed miserably trying not stare at him as he walked over and leaned against the counter." Everybody knows Sunday is sleep-in day."

I focused on Shark Boy singing his super violent lullaby in his funny shark outfit thingy. "So, you wanna meet my friends today?" I asked, saying the first thing that came to my mind.

He thought about it for a moment. "That depends. Are they all like Angela?"

"That depends. What do you think of Angela."

"Well, I like her so far. A little hyper-active but it's in the right place."

I smiled because that was the same first impression I got from Angela when I started out at Forks High School. "So you really like her."

"Yes. I really like her." I beamed, ignoring everything below the neck when I looked over at him. "Good. Then you'll like the others."

**AN: Please Review.**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: okay, so I know it's been forever and I'm sorry. I back in my classes and I got very busy very quickly. I'll try to update every week if I can. So please enjoy!**

Waking up for work on Monday was a mission and a half. I just wanted to lie under the covers and stay there with Jacob for the rest of the day. Too bad I couldn't, though.

Jacob told me that I didn't have to go to work if I didn't feel like it because it was my birthday but I told him no. Benjamin would need a sane person around if he was going to make it through his internship. "And you know how they are. Or did you forget the madness that took place in my living room on Saturday?"

Saturday must have been the weirdest day in Jacob's life ever, meeting Kate, Jessica, Eric, Ben and Benjamin. The good news was that they didn't freak out, him being a public figure and all. They were all very chilled about the whole thing, well, as chilled as Eric could ever be.

The bad news was that the teasing and joking and the taunting was on a level I had never experienced before. Eric, stupid, stupid Eric, was drunk as hell and would not shut up. I couldn't tell if Jacob was annoyed or amused, watching him almost set himself on fire. To say the least, my friends had proved themselves to be ten times the idiots I'd originally thought they were.

"You won't be bored without me?" I asked with his hand holding mine. I felt weird just leaving him there all alone.

"I'll be fine. I do have something to while you're gone."

"Alright then," I said, "I'll see you when I get home."

He kissed my forehead and told me, "Don't work too hard," before letting me go.

The moment my toe inched out of the elevator, I was slap in the face by a very, _very_ off key Happy Birthday To You song. The whole office screeching the birthday song took me by surprise and I swear they almost scared the baby out of me. All except Jane, of course, who stood where she was told to and grumpily mumbled the words, not even looking at me. Kate seemed to be auditioning for a record deal or something, singing the loudest of them all. By the time they got to the _Hip Hip Hooray!_ I was crying tears from laughing so hard.

Aro, and I'd known he'd been behind this hideous yet very thoughtful display, led me to a cake with my name in icing and a single candle in the middle and had me make a wish. I didn't really know what to wish for but I closed my eyes and blew the flame out as if I did. And like the wild savages they are, everyone dove right for the cake.

After everyone gave me their individual wishes, it was back to work.

Benjamin had turned my desk chair into a birthday thrown and made me wear a birthday girl head band with feelers on it. He'd gotten me a fancy looking journal that came with a fancy looking pen.

Kate got me a whole range of almond scented shower gels, bubble bath, body lotion and candles. "To keep you stress free! You work way too hard." I had no idea what she was on about because ninety percent of the time, I was fooling around with her, Jess and Angela.

"My gift will be the best the out of everyone else's," Angela said casually but dead seriously, " so you'll get it at the end of the day when everyone's already given you all their crappy attempts."

I got a call from my mom who told me she'd taken up knitting just so that she could make baby clothes with her own personal touch. I knew my mom was a little eccentric so I fear for what my baby would end up wearing. Phil promised he would buy something sensible just in case Renee went overboard.

Charlie called too, but there was less emotion behind it. We never the best at expressing how much we meant to each other but it was always okay because we were close enough to know it anyway. He said he would visit me as soon as he got the chance.

The best call, though, came when an unknown number called my phone and when I picked up, I almost burst with amusement. "Hello?"

"Belllllllllllllllllaaaaaaaaa aaaaa!" I just knew then, that it was Paul calling me and my day had officially been made. I didn't even ask how he got my number.

"I can't believe you're calling me right now," I said cheerfully and grinning like an idiot while Benjamin looked at me quizzically.

"Oh, Bella. Don't you know me by now?" Paul's voice was filled with mock hurt and a smile in his tone. "How could I not call you on this special day?" He then proceeded to sing Grenade by Bruno Mars over the phone and I laughed so hard I can't even explain. "Come visit soon, Bella. The distance is killing me."

"Cut it out!" I heard Rachael in the background. "And give me the phone." A pause for a second and then, "Hi, Bella," she said flatly. "Don't mind the moron. I'll give him a good smack after this."

"Paul is not a problem. In fact he just made my day." It was way beyond true. The rest of the day I was still smiling.

After work, Ben, Mike and Eric caught Angela and I in the elevator going down. Ben presented me with a book he thought I might like and Mike got me a silver bracelet.

Angela followed me home so that she could give me her present there. "I don't want to make the others jealous."

Jacob was working at the dinning room table in front of his laptop when we got home, which made me remember that I didn't check my inbox. I didn't want to bother him because he looked super busy. Just as I'd guessed, I'd gotten an email from my big brother Riley. It was a video message in which he wished me a happy birthday and told me he didn't want to miss me looking like a globe. "I'll visit you soon, little sister, but I won't tell you when. It'll be a surprise."

I'd have to video call him sometime. We hadn't spoken directly in so long.

"Awwwww man," Angela grumbled with her arms crossed. " Now present practically sucks. That brother of yours just had to ruin everything."

"You know I'll love whatever it is," I encouraged her as I plopped myself triedly onto the sofa next to her. I was tired already. "I mean, as long as it's from you it can't go wrong."

She rolled her eyes at me and sighed. "Okay then. Here." She held out an envelope with my name written in her beautiful hand-writing.

"What is it?"

"Open it. And I'll change it if you don't like it."

I found the fold of the envelope and tried to open it without tearing it. "Of course I'm gonna like it."

"You don't know what it is yet," she said sulking.

"Don't have to," I told her. I managed to get three quarters of it open before it tore a little. When it was opened, I pulled out a brightly-coloured pamphlet with a pregnant woman on the cover. The title was _Pregnancy Survival Classes: For New Moms and Dads_.

"It's like a couple thing you can do together," she added.

Inside the pamphlet were headings like, _exercise and yoga, breathing, going into labour_ and other things that I didn't get to reading. The pictures looked really great and the ladies in them looked like really round models: their and skin was perfect and their bellies didn't look very uncomfortable.

"I know the lady who runs the place and I got you guys a place starting next week if you want."

"Oh, Ang . . ." Okay, so this was the best gift so far and I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised. Over all the years together, Angela had fail to even once give me a bad present. She knew me like the back of her hand. But this was just so . . . "I love it.," I said to her. "Thank you times a million." I gave her the biggest hug I could without squishing my stomach.

"Don't mention it. I've got to get home, though. Before it gets very late."

We get up and I walked her to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Sleep tight, Bella."

When she was gone I was feeling really tired so I went to bed. Jacob came soon after taking a shower, walking around in nothing but sweat pants. He slid in behind me and let my rest my head on his arm. I showed him Angela's pamphlet and he thought it was a good idea. It was a mistake, though, telling him how great the gift was."But wait until I show you my present tomorrow," he whispered in my ear. "I think you'll like it _very_ much."

The bastard had say it all sexy-like in my ear while I was lying there so close to him. I'm lucky I got any sleep at all.

**AN: Please review! Pretty please . . .**


	21. Chapter 21

**AN: I am so flippin' busy I might just find a cliff and just into the ocean. Maybe if I'm lucky, a golden skinned, black haired hero with muscles will dive in after me.**

**It be like this for a while though but please enjoy.**

Jacob Black was a very difficult man to live with and he didn't even realize it.

How was I supposed to live that way, him being oblivious to all the discomforts and frustrations that came along with being a woman, let alone a pregnant woman? What the hell was I supposed to do when my body had a mind and emotional capacity of it's own? And how was I supposed to bring this up without totally embarrassing myself?

It's not like he wouldn't touch me but never in the way I was hoping. He kissed me and ran his fingers across my skin and sometimes it did a little heated, well for me anyway (I'd get all flustered and excited), but there was never any intention behind these things on his part. And then at night he'd come to bed shirtless and sexy while I ballooned and grew larger everyday. He'd whisper sleepily in my ear or his stubble brushed against my cheek.

Things were good, though. Everything was almost perfect. Except when we went for my check up and Jacob decided to take me to a different doctor. I remembered him saying he didn't like Jenks but I lost it, I cursed him and locked myself in the car for eight whole minutes while he tried to apologise from the outside. I didn't hear most of it, though, but I eventually got out and went to see the new doctor anyway. She was nice I guess but it wasn't the same. Doesn't matter too much, everything else okay and the doctor said the baby was perfectly healthly. And my mom had become very keen on knowing every little detail about my pregnancy.

"Mom, don't worry so much. I'm perfectly fine. Jake and Angela are taking great care of me. Yes, I'm taking my vitamins." Sheesh, I sounded like Yes, I'm eating right. Mom, I'm okay." I looked up at Jacob, who was innocently watching the sky while I tried desperately to convince my mother that everything was going smoothly. It was his idea that I call her because he thought it would cheer me up. I didn't even need cheering up but I thought I'd call her just to hear her voice. I should've known it would turn out to be a whole conversation on whether I was washing behind my ears or not.

"I miss you so much, baby. I can't wait to see you."

She sounded as if she was on her way already. "I'll visit soon, mom. I don't really know when but I will."

"Don't worry about it. No need to stress, alright. I love you."

"I love you, mom." I put the phone away and sighed. "She worries too much."

Jacob had his arms around me as we looked over the balcony out to a park where children were playing.

"She just misses you, is all. And she wants to see you before you pop."

"I don't like that word. It makes me sound like balloon. I feel massive enough without that word being thrown around like that."

"Bella, you're not massive. You're hardly even big yet."

"I'm huge," I yawned and let my head fall back against his shoulder. "I haven't seen my feet in a week. They've been missing since then."

"I think you're just right. You might possibly have the most perfect belly of all bellies."

He was such a liar. And on top of that I didn't really want to be there. There, looking at a place he'd just found, a place he'd wanted my opinion on, a place with the estate agent just waiting in the lobby to make the sale. This was a place he intended to move into and I didn't even know he was looking. I know we didn't officially agree that he was staying at my place but, I don't know, I kind of thought it was all good the way it was. It never occurred to me that he would eventually find a place separate from me and I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it.

"So what do you think?" He asked me quietly in my ear in the way that frustrated me. "Do you like it."

To say I liked it would have been an understatement because it was really beautiful. It was strangely loft-like and I'd always wanted to live in a loft. The space had a relaxing openness about it, the pale grey walls and white ceiling giving the space a calmness. I loved the wood floors and how the sun flooded the living through the wide windows. I loved the master bedroom balcony looking out over the park playground and the two other bedrooms and study. I loved how quiet the neighbourhood was. The kitchen was open plan with living room with and white marble counter tops and pale blue cupboards. The one thing I wasn't sure of was size. It was way too big for one person. To sum up what I thought of the place, "It's gorgeous," I said half-heartedly. "I really like it."

Really I did. But I guess I didn't want to like it.

"I think I'll take it then," he said, a smile in his voice. I was glad he couldn't see my face because I couldn't really show the appropriate enthusiasm. My voice alone was a complete flop.

"Perfect." I didn't make it sound perfect.

"Just one thing, though . . ." He did that thing he did whenever he held me from behind. Where he kisses whatever skin was exposed to him at the time. He kissed my cheek, holding me close and said, "How would you feel about moving here with me?"

I didn't expect that.

So my disbelief, completely overtaking my gloominess, was very obvious. "Really?"

His responding 'hmmm' into my skin made me shiver. "It's way to big for just me but with you and a baby on the way it'd be perfect: a room for us, a guest room and a nursery. It's not to far from where you work and it's closer to Angela. If you move in I can take care of you." I turned and circled my arms around his neck as he pulled close again. "I know it's not like we're married but I think we can it pull off and be like a proper . . . family. Me, you and this kid right here." His hand pressed against the side of my stomach and he leaned in to kiss me. A deep, meaningful kiss that would turn me into butter. It distracted me, though, and I didn't have to try keep my tears at bay.

When I needed to breathe, pulled away and said, "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, I'll move here with you."

He smiled that smile that I loved so much and dug around in his pocket for a second before pulling out a key tied up in a pink bow. "About that birthday present . . ."

"You already bought it?" I gasped as he placed the key in one of my hands.

"I knew you'd like it. Well, in theory, based on all the things you liked about the other places we saw. It was only officially ours last night."

'Ours'. I liked that word. It was 'ours' together. The little key I had in my hand. And this place. It was now the place where we'd live together and the place where we would raise our child.

"Best birthday present ever!" I smiled brightly and he leaned in to kiss me again.

**AN: okay, I know that this is really short but please be patient with me. Everything is just so hectic right now. Please review.**


	22. Chapter 22

**AN: Sorry this is so rushed. Please enjoy.**

Now that I wouldn't be living my apartment anymore, Angela jumped at the chance to be the one to design and decorate the baby's nursery. More than that, she was ready with thousands of ideas and visions, as if she'd been planning the entire thing the whole time.

Time flew fast but at the same, it dragged on by slowly. The slow part was largely contributed to by the small person who was growing in my stomach. At only five months nearing end of October, I felt as though I'd been pregnant forever; getting bigger, not fitting in my clothes, needing the bathroom more and more. Four months to go. Once, dead in the middle of the night, I got the most intense craving for, get this, cherry flavoured jello and cranberry juice. It was late and everywhere was probably closed but Jacob went out to see where he could get such specific things close to midnight. It took him a whole hour and a half and I devoured everything within the space of five minutes. From then, he bought the jello in bulk and there was always cranberry juice in the refridgerator.

Renee had a body pillow delivered to doorstep in a box so massive you could fit a person into. I only read in the letter she sent with it what it was and I didn't think much of it. I slept fine during the nights except when junior got a little active with his or feet. I didn't think it would be as great as my mother emphasised, so it was weeks before I even tried it.

And it was like heaven.

It was the perfect comination of everything I liked in a pillow, soft yet firm, no down feathers poking through the pillow case, long enough that I could have my leg over it, which became the way I prefered to sleep the bigger I got.

The pregnancy classes were on Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoons. The substitute instructor, Adrienne, was a bit of a nut. She was really cheesey and Jacob was pretty sure she was high half of the time. In one exercise, when we were supposed to be meditating, her corney lines had Jacob and I holding back our laughter through pursed lips while everybody had their eyes closed and did whatever it was she told us to do. "_Let your soul roam free in the other rhelm. Connect your spirit to that of your partner and infant." _Or,_ "Let your energies flow in one continuous ribbon of enlightenment. You are now bringers of life . . ."_

The first day at those classes, Jacob was swarmed by a bunch of people, pregnant women and their partners all asking for an autograph while I sat there on the exercise mat, arms crossed and face in a grimace. Jacob struggled to break free of them but was eventually saved when the regular instructor showed up. It was like that. The firsy few sessions.

I didn't have much to do in the way of packing up my apartment. I didn't really have a lot of stuff. I had enough funature to be comfortable, enough kitchen ware to cook a decent meal and good enough appliances to keep life simple: namely, a refridgerator, a microwave, a kettle and a television. Most things, like pictures and books and CDs were already in boxes. Jacob was having some of his thing couriered from CA now that there would be space for them.

We sat together one night on the bed thinking of names. I was wearing my underware and one of Jacob's oversized t-shirt as I sat facing him, my legs either side of his hips, my hands locked behind his neck. He had his hands under the shirt, rubbing my belly with warm fingers like a crystal ball, as if the baby would let him know what name it wanted.

"How about Abigail for a girl?" He suggested, rubbing the left side where the last kick had made me wince a little.

"I like Abigail. Or Chantelle."

"And Dustin for a boy?"

I bit my lip, not quite liking the name. "I prefer Dean, I think." His hand was warm against my skin and making me drowsy. "Or Jensen."

"I hope it's a girl."

"Last night, you said boy," I pointed out.

"I know," he told me and I laughed. I didn't bother asking what happened. "I also like Stephenie."

I liked Stephenie too. He had a thing for girl names but I wasn't too fond of his boy names. My mom told me that she liked Jeremey for a boy and Emma for a girl. Angela said that her name was perfect for anything child but Sophia was good too. Riley emailed me a list of _Top Ten Most Popular Aussie Names_ and the meaning behind each of those names.

"You know what? Let's ask the baby what she wants her name to be," he suggested, going back to my thoughts earlier.

He got me to kneel over him so that he was face-to-face with my belly button. He put his hands either side of me, being very quiet at first and I wondered if I should say something. Just as I was going to open my mouth, he took his left hand and gently rapped his knuckles against my stomach. "Hello. Anybody home?"

I laughed but he shushed me and I bit my lip. "I gotta hear what she was to say," he whispered to me, then he says to my stomach, "Hey kid, you got a minute? It's your dad speaking." He then put his ear against my skin and started nodding. "Mhmm. Yeah, sorry to disturb. I know you must be busy in there, y'know, growing your little toes and fingers and stuff."

Again he listened and nodded. He looked up at me and mouthed, "She's very busy," and put his ear back agaist my skin. "Mmhmm, no I'll make this quick. Don't wanna waste your time or anything. Just one question: what name would you like? And it might help if you tell me if you're a boy or a girl." What followed was a long string of 'mmhmm's and 'yeah's and nodding. "Okay, great! Love that. Listen, can't wait to meet you in a few months but for now, you get back to growing and dreaming and squashing your mom's bladder, alright? And speaking of your mom, could you kick a little less? She gets cranky in the mornings if she doesn't sleep well. Okay? Right then. As you were."

I was trying to play along but I struggled to keep the smile off of my face. "What did she or she say?"

"_She_ said that she thinks her name should be Stephenie and she says we should paint her nursery hot pink with butterflies and hearts and all that typical girly stuff."

"Girly stuff?"

"That's what she said."

I wasn't going to take this seriously because by tomorrow morning he'd be totally convinced we were having a baby boy and the nursery should be some sort of blue.

"Okay, then. A girl it is," I said, just to humor him. He pulled me closer and I put my arms around his neck. Our foreheads touched. "I hope the next four months pass by quickly. I feel huge."

" I think you look gorgeous."

He was lying but I appreaciated it. I pulled his face to me and kissed him, fingers curling in his hair. The same as always, I felt like he was being too careful with me. Always soft and always gentle but never with any intention. Regardless, I tried my luck and pressed my whole body against him and he responds by running his hands up my bare back softly. I moved my hips into hips slow, hoping for a reaction. He tried to be gentle in his resistance I'm persistant. I felt him pressed against my thigh as he pulled away as carefully as he could before taking my face into his hands.

I was flushed red in the face, disappointed and frustrated as I tried to catched my breath I didn't look at him, trying not to get uncessarily emotional or teary. "I think you need to get some sleep," he said, kissing my forehead. "It's late."

I don't argue or protest, but rather, I cralw off of him, get my body pillow and curl up under the covers. He didn't sleep as close to me as usual until I fell asleep.

I dreamt of him that night.

**AN: I was atually thinking you guys could come up with names you think are good and if I like them, that's what I'll name the baby. Hopefully, I'll have more time on my hands soon.**


	23. Chapter 23

**AN: another quickly done chapter.**

**You guys have suggested such great names I almost didn't know what do with myself. I've chose about five favourite names but feel free to suggest more.**

**Enjoy the story.**

The laptop was in front of me, Angela was talking to me and the tv was on in the other room. Still, I was totally zoned out, starring at a corner where two walls met the ceiling. I could hear Angela's voice, I could hear her words but none of them actually sunk in. All I could notice was that she kept commenting on magazine articles.

The baby was kicking the shit out of my uterus and no amount of rubbing, though I'd been rubbing vigorously anyway, would ease it. My bladder was squashed and my breasts hurt little. I needed the bathroom almost every hour and it didn't help that I was guzzling down cranberry juice by the gallon. All in all, I wasn't particularly feeling like a million bucks.

Jacob was off looking for a car. He told me he'd sold the one he used when he was in CA and needed to get a new one. He's asked if I wanted to help him look but to be honest, I didn't really feel like going about. I didn't eve care about cars. Angela picked my car when it was time for me get one. Instead, I suggested he go with Ben and he could take my car. Angela agreed to sit with me while he was gone, even when I insisted that I could take of myself.

"Bella! Bella, are you even listening to me?"

Angela threw a ball of paper at my face and snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Hey!"

"Hey, yourself. Did you even hear one thing I just said to you?"

I took the paper and threw it back her but she dodged it without even trying. "Shame on you," I said to her, crossing my arms. "How dare you throw papers at me in my condition?"

"Whatever. You shouldn't make it a habit to ignore your best friend. She might feel insulted."

It wasn't that I was ignoring her, it was just that I'd zoned out completely. My mind was somewhere else: the corner at the ceiling to be specific. "Sorry. I was just out of it. What were you saying?"

She rolled her eyes and handed the two magazines over to me.

"I think Hollywood misses your baby daddy."

I turned the magazines towards me so that they were the right way around. Both had more than half a page dedicated on highlighting how Jacob was MIA all of a sudden. Apparently he'd missed a movie premier he was invited to and two press releases he'd been expected to attend. Of course, the usual melodramatic words were used. Things like 'vanished' and 'mysterious' and all the over-the-top words a teenager would use in a school essay. One magazine even announced that they suspected he'd eloped with another actress who'd disappeared at around the same time as him. I scoffed at that.

"Too bad," I sniggered as I slid the magazines back to her. "He's mine now and they can't have him back."

"Good for you!"

I smiled but sighed within the same second, leaning my head back to look at the ceiling.

"And what's all that for?" Angela asked.

I kept my eyes on the ceiling. "What's all what?"

"What's all that sulking I see? Did the ceiling upset you or something?"

I shook my head. "The ceiling is fine. Perfect actually. Really helpful when I need to stare at something."

"So what's the deal? The wall not good enough for you?"

I didn't know what to say at first but then I realised I might as well just say it because I told Angela everything else anyway. "Jacob still won't touch me," I said with extra sulk. "I just made things worse the other night and now he won't even kiss me properly."

"What do you mean 'won't kiss properly'?"

I shifted a little in my seat to look at her and baby decided to kick a little more then. "All I get now is a peck on the cheek or the forehead. Nothing else."

"What did you do?"

I didn't want to tell her. I was too embarrassed. Going red in the face and averting my eyes to the place I was rubbing my stomach, I said, "I think I came on a little too strong."

My face went even redder when my best friend burst out laughing at my misfortune. And it wasn't even a small laugh, either. She laughed for a full five minutes, red in the face and clutching her stomach. "So you jumped the poor man,' she said. "I think you might have scared him!"

Refusing to sit there and be laughed at, I decided it was time for another bathroom break. I wished, at that moment, that getting up out of a chair was as smooth a movement as it used to be. Right now, I must have looked like a whale, manoeuvring myself and my belly into a standing position before I could waddle away from a laughing Angela.

When I was done washing my hands, Angela was standing in the doorway, only just wiping the tears in her eyes. I glared at her and I could tell she still wanted to laugh.

"Are you done?"

She took a few deep breaths and when she was sure she could speak she confirmed. "I'm sorry, Bella, really I am, but that was fucking hilarious."

"I beg to differ."

"Think about it. Pregnant girlfriend attacked her boyfriend in the bedroom out of sexual frustration. I find that hysterical."

"I thought you were done," I said with a frown my face.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, sorry. Anyway, you probably caught him off guard, trying to seduce the man all of a sudden."

I shot her a look. " Not helping."

But she ignored me. Instead, she took my arm and led to the sofa. Again, I felt like an acrobatic whale as I tried to sit down. Jesus, I'm huge. "He's probably unsure, is all."

"Unsure?"

"Bella," she said flatly, like it was obvious. "You are kind of turning into planet. I mean, maybe he just doesn't know _how_ to be with you without hurting you or your baby. If you think about it, that would scare you too."

Why did I ever ask Angela for advice? I hated it when she made sense. And when she made sense it usually meant she was right. Angela was always right and I hardly ever liked it. So what the hell was I going to do with that? Was there anything I could do if my boyfriend was afraid of me? Probably not. Why Angela? Why couldn't I just get crappy advice from my mom and get on with my life . . .

"You have those baby classes today, right?" Angela asked, pulling her phone out.

"Uh, yeah. Why?"

She already had the phone to her ear and was walking into the other room. I could hear her talking but her words were all meshed together. She was back soon after, a sly, smug grin on her face. "You're welcome," she said.

"For what?"

"Oh, don't worry about it."

I wanted to ask her what she'd done but decided that with Angela, somethings are better unknown. I let her sit on the sofa and put my feet in her lap. Before I knew it, I was dreaming babies and finger painting with toddlers.

When I woke up, Angela was gone and Jacob had carried up into the bedroom. He let me use his arm as a pillow while the other lay around my slowly expanding waist. I could tell it was early afternoon. The clock on my wall said it was 12:45 and time to get up, which reminded me how much of a whale I was, again. I needed the bathroom too.

"You awake?" He asked quietly, leaving me so very disappointed. His breath wasn't warm on the nape of my neck the way it usually was when he whispered in my ear but rather through my hair. He was holding me close but not the same. It all reminded me how depressing our situation had gotten.

"Yeah, I'm awake," I said with yawn.

"How did you sleep?"

"Okay, I guess. This child of yours wouldn't stop kicking the shit out of me. At least it's better now."

"He seems to be feeling hyper," he commented as he rubbed the side of my stomach where the baby had been kicking. It felt good. Soothing. I also completely ignored the fact that we were back to a '_he'_ this week. It would change again within the week.

"I need to get up," I said but m body disagreed with me. I was feeling lazy.

"Just relax for a while. We have an hour before we even have to leave for the baby yoga thing."

"As much as I would love lie here all day, your kid is squashing my bladder," I complained, sitting up. "I really need the bathroom."

I was getting sick of seeing the bathroom so many times in one day and I would do something about it if it didn't mean giving up cranberry juice.

I was hungry too. Starved. As if I hadn't just eaten a few hours ago. Could a person eat too many bowls of Cheerios? Probably because Jacob took the box away from me and replaced it with a bowl of fruit salad.

Now that I was gargantuan, I hated stretchy clothes. It made me look way larger than I really was. But what else could I do? "Baby yoga," as Jacob called it, required flexible clothes so I had pretty much no choice. I didn't feel like going to 'baby yoga' but Angela convinced me, albeit via text, that I had to go because it would make me feel better. I hadn't forgotten the call she made earlier, face smug and all pleased with herself. Even her 'enjoy class' text made me extra suspicious.

"I swear, I'm going to explode if I get any bigger." Getting in and out the car was as tricky as sitting down and getting up. And then there were stairs, which I despised more than ever. Not only because they intensified my waddled but also because Jacob could never resist helping me as if I were climbing Everest with gimp leg, arm around my waist and constantly reminding me to take my time. "Jacob, I'm okay. I know I can't see my feet anymore but I can still use them."

I didn't hesitate to glare daggers at any conversation-seeking fans the moment we walked into the class. We sat together at our usual place in the hall. It started the same as always, with a new sort of meditation. I had to sit facing Jacob with my legs on either side of his waist, backs to the couples on both sides of us. The same way we sat when we were talking baby names. My hands locked behind his neck while his were place either side of my stomach. We had to close our eyes while they played some 'calming' music in the background.

"This session is about connecting and communicating with your partner. If you are not here with a life partner, please feel free to continue meditating and stretching in the hall next door." The instructors' voices were loud and clear. A few pairs of pairs of people got up out of the circle and left the room. "Alright, from here we will continue regular breathing exercises before we move on. Remember the process: close your eyes and clear your mind. There is only you and your partner. Breathe in slowly. Hold it. Five, four, three, two, one and breath out slowly. Repeat it again. Five, four, three, two, one and breathe out slowly."

We spent ten minutes of the hour breathing, through the nose then through the mouth and then humming. We had the minute of silence with the music still playing in the background and then we could open our eyes again.

It really was relaxing to just sit there and breathe for a while. I always felt better. By the time we opened our eyes, I had a small smile on my lips.

"Alright, classa. So I got a call from a friend of mine this morning to point out something important but difficult to discuss for some people. And thought that it would be better to address it sooner rather than later. So today, we will start working on being intimate during pregnancy . . ."

Just at those words alone,made my poor heart stop. This had Angela written all over it in big, black, bold letters. Brilliant, brilliant Angela. I had to admit, it was a brilliant idea. I'd have to thank her later, right after I'd beaten the shit out of her.

"Being intimate can be very difficult or scary for some people. Sometimes it's the man, sometimes it's the woman and sometimes it's both."

The nerve Angela had, texting me to enjoy class when she very well knew what was going to happen. Shame on her. Jacob tensed immediately but tired to hide it. He looked beyond uncomfortable and it made me feel bad for being so hopeful. Now that we were here, maybe he would be a lot less resistant towards me. Now I felt guilty for putting him through this "Intimacy is nothing to be afraid of during pregnancy. It's natural and safe as long as you are careful. At the same time, it's not something to endure. It's perfectly okay if you would rather not."

Angela had better have a good hiding place when we're done here because I planned on hunting her down and beating her to death with a baseball bat.

"Now, ladies I want you to lie on your backs like I'm doing, palms flat against your mat. And men I want you to kneel between her legs, like Ryan is, and have you hands on her hips."

Awkwardly, we did what we were supposed to, my face struggling to withhold the threatening smile..

"Now ladies, you are going to lift your hips for four seconds, hold it for second and drop again for seconds." The two instructors demonstrate and then Ryan said, "We will be doing ten sets of theses. You will begin on my count and remember to keep eye contact with your partner."

Looking at Jacob, I could already feel all the blood flushing my cheeks. I don't know why I was smiling but it could be because Jacob's face at the moment was beyond adorable. It was the first time, though, I'd ever seen Jacob look as shy as he did now, and it looked good on him.

"Ready and lift, two, three four. Drop, two, three four." The instructor started counting and I lifted and dropped my hips accordingly. "Lift, two, three, four. Drop two three four." Ten whole sets and then we moved on to the next exercise.

Said exercises became more and more complex and involved more and more, erm, suggestive positions. I could even see a very slight tint of red to Jacob's face the farther we went.

Before I knew it, class was over. The instructors concluded with at-home pointers to 'keep the intimacy with your partner.' I made a point of remembering them.

The drive home was extremely silent and when we got home, Jacob still seemed uncomfortable. At this point, I'd lost all hope of making things better between us physically. He was going to hold me at arms length for the rest of the remaining four months.

The rest of the day wasn't very eventful. Angela called, obviously for details on how her phone-call to the the instructor had faired out. Needless to say, she very disappointed, maybe even more disappointed than me, when I told her that Jacob had not budged. In fact, it might have made things even more awkward.

"Damn. Sorry, Bella. I really thought it would help."

"Don't worry about it. I'll live, I guess."

At the end of the day, I'd spent all the energy I had within me. My stomach sometimes felt like it was rounder than other times, and right now was one of those times. Jacob followed me to bed the way he did most nights. His reaction to the class to today had smashed all hope of change in his closeness to me. So I was completely taken aback when he got into his sweat pants (and nothing else) and curved his body to mine like he used to: chest to my back. The most shocking, the best, was when he brushed the hair away from my neck, kissed the skin there and whispered in my ear huskily. "Sleep well, Bella." His breath was warm, no hot, on my flesh. Goosebumps rose from my skin and my hairs stood on end. Every never in my body could feel how close his body was to me after so long with out so much as a kiss.

Well, how the fuck was I supposed I sleep after that?!

**AN: Please review.**


	24. Chapter 24

**AN: You guys are great. Thanks so much for your reviews. Sooooo, I think it's about time we have another JPOV chapter, don't you? It'll either be the next one or the one after. But for now, please enjoy.**

I had to be honest, I had absolutely no idea what Jane was doing talking me, in my office, with a smile on her face. To me, having her talk and smile at me was far more amazing than the time Charlie took me to see a magician make an elephant disappear. She was talking about when her sister was pregnant or some rubbish along those lines and giving me advice and baby books and I just sat there not sure what to do. I usually missed having Benjamin around since he'd taken a break to write his exams but right now, his company in this specific situation would've been _very_ appreciated. I could feel the pure evil radiating behind that deceitful simper that vandalised her face and, silly as it may seem, I instinctively had my arms around the bulge of my stomach protectively. This was the creepiest thing ever and I couldn't believe that it was happening. While she went on about whatever it is she was lying about, I made a mental note to get a rosary and a bible for my desk to keep the devil out. Maybe I would even put salt at the door. And holy water couldn't possibly hurt, either.

And with the spectacular timing I value in a friend, Angela walked in, froze dead when she saw Jane, looked at me then looked at Jane, quirked her brow and lightly interrupted the one sided conversation.

"Uh, so sorry to interrupt but, uh, Bella, Aro and Dianne need you in editing for a quick second."

I was way more than willing to get out of there, away from creepy, happy-chappy demonic Jane. She was probably going to curse me and needed a strand of my hair or something. "Um, yeah, sure. Sorry about this, I have to go." Saved by Angela once again. No need to ask why we were friends!

"No, I understand, just think about what I told you."

As if I knew what that was. I was too busy plotting and alternate escape plan. I waddled away from her so fast it must have been hysterical to watch. I grabbed Angela's hand and high tailed it out of there at top pregnancy speed.

Once we were a safe distance away, I let out a sigh of relief. "Angela, I have no idea how you got your talent for walking in at the perfect time but just know that I love you for it."

"What the hell was that about? I'm glad I walked before she zapped you with some sort of dark magic."

"I don't know, she was on about pregnancy or some shit like that."

We got to Dianne's and Angela joked that she'd have to wait outside for me so that she could walk me safely back to my desk. Aro only needed me for a quick five minutes to check the accuracy of a submitted article so I was out in no time.

Angela waited, like she's promised, and walked me back to my desk saying that if we were lucky, the evil spirits would have gone away. Unfortunately for me, that was not the case, and when we got there, Jane was sitting at my desk, clicking away with her evil little fingers on my key board.

"What the fuck are doing! Get out!"

She jumped, almost shoving my laptop to the ground. Believe me, I would've loved to be the one to do it but in my current condition, Angela had quicker reflexes than me and grabbed the little bitch by the collar and dragged out from behind my desk and tossed her to the ground. "What were you doing? You better have a good explanation for this or you'll wish you'd never met me!"

Like in any environment, people peeked out of their cubicles to see all the drama, probably hoping to witness Angela giving Jane the long overdue beating we all would've loved to give her. But Aro was there too, and Angela knew better than to completely lose her temper in the work place, though I did take it upon myself to get beside her just in case, even though I would've gladly watched her beat the bitch to a pulp.

"What's going on here?" Our boss asked, ever calm in his slight accent. He had his gaze fixed on me and I couldn't tell whether he was concerned or confused. His poker face was solid like that.

"Little miss over here, after pretending to be an angel, was going through Bella's laptop while she was busy with you."

Jane got to her feet and brushed herself off. She put her nose in the air and her arms crossed, a grimace forming on her face. I could see that Angela only just managed to resist the urge to shove her back to the ground. There weren't too many things that could make Angela mad. Jane, no surprise to me or anyone else, was one of those not-very-many things.

"Is it true, Bella?" Aro asked me, still calm. I wondered if he thought Angela would make this up or if he just wanted to hear it from me.

I nodded stiffly. "Yes. I got back here and she was on my computer."

All the excitement must have had an affect on my body because my baby started kicking again in his favourite spot at the side of my stomach. It was a really hard kick and I winced, taking in a quick sharp gasp. I grabbed Angela's hand, because I really needed something to squeeze, and shut my eyes. "Oh god, I think I need to sit down," I said, rubbing the side of my stomach.

"Bella? What's wrong?"

"Jesus Christ, don't even try that," Jane sneered. "I didn't even touch you."

"Jane, shut the hell up!" Angela groaned, as she helped me into the chair Jessica had brought over for me.

"Felix, get Jane to my office, please!" Aro commanded stiffly. "I'll be there in a minute." I still had my eyes closed but I could here them shuffle away. "Everyone else, back to work!"

Another super kick in the side gets a whimper out of me and I squeeze Angela's hand tight with one hand and keep rubbing with the other.

"Isabella, do you need a doctor?" Aro asks me.

When I opened my eyes, he's kneeling in front of me in his expensive charcoal suit. He took my hand from Angela and patted it gently. I shook my head at him. "No, don't call a doctor. Baby's just has a good kick is all. I'm fine."

"Do you want me to call Jacob?" Angela asked.

"No, don't do that, you'll only worry him. I'm okay. Just give it a while."

Jessica brought me some water, even though I didn't really need it.

"I won't get a doctor but I'm sending you home for today. Just to get away from the stress."

It wasn't necessary, to be honest. It's not like I was in unbearable pain and couldn't go on the rest of the day. This happened sometimes, nothing major. "I'm fine, really. The baby's only kicking. It should stop in a while and I can get back to work."

Aro sighed like he really didn't understand why I was arguing with him. "I'm sending you home, Isabella. That's your first assignment for the month: sit at home and rest a little, okay? If you feel better tomorrow, you can come to work for a while and we'll see."

I didn't particularly want to go home but I didn't want to stay at work either so it was easy enough to accept defeat. Jacob was busy working on the new apartment (painting, fixing, moving things over there) so I would have a moment to get myself together. Angela got all my things and she drove me home in my car while Jessica followed in hers. They not only walked me up to my door but both made sure I'd changed and gotten into bed before they left. The place was almost totally empty: a few boxes here and there and a coffee table. All my book shelves and lamps and things had been moved. I didn't really have a plan as to what I was going to do with this free time so I cuddled up on the couch with my buddy, the body-pillow, and put on The Big Bang Theory. It was the best thing to cheer me up, considering that nothing on the planet made me laugh harder than Dr Sheldon Cooper. I selected my favourite episodes before watching the others and I didn't even notice that three hours had passed when Jacob came home and brought food with him. Only then did I realise how absolutely starved I was. Beef fried noodles and chicken fried rice.

"I thought you'd like a break from fruits and salads for tonight."

"You are so good to me," I said swooning and throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him. He kissed me back.

He was back to kissing me and holding me but it he was still hesitating. I didn't want to say that we'd ended up where we'd started but we weren't far from it. I decided to let it go, not to force it but rather to let it happen on it's own.

I didn't tell him what happened today at work. I didn't want to make him angry, so I cut that part out when he asked me how my day was.

We watched the rest of The Big Bang Theory together while we ate. Jacob didn't seem to get the humour but I was too busy pissing myself laughing to notice at first.

"I have no clue what he's saying half the time," he choked when I commented on just how absolutely brilliant. Sheldon was. "And this guys can't even talk to women!"

"That's part of the hilarity. The plot is ridiculously unique. I can't believe you're not finding this funny."

"I'm sorry, I just don't get it."

I sighed heavily, shaking my head in mock disappointment. "Well, I don't know how to tell you this, but" I bury my face in my hands. "I just can't be with a man who doesn't find Sheldon Cooper funny . . ." I looked up at him, wide eyed and bottom lip jutting out.

He grabbed the remote and shut the Tv off.

"Alright, that's enough television for the night. I think you need to get to bed." He got up, took my hand and pulled me to my feet.

"But I'm still watching!"

Suddenly, he scooped me up into his arms. "Bells, there's just no way I'll be out matched by a socially awkward and possibly insane fictional character."

He carried me up the stairs and set me on the bed. "I think you need a nap. Too much tv can't be good for you. Behave yourself while I take a shower, okay?" He made his way his way to the bathroom and I could hear the water on the other side of the wall. I tried looking for a book to read from one of the many packed boxes but by the time I found one, I didn't feel like reading anymore. All my CDs were packed away and I was too lazy to find them. I didn't have to check to know that there was nothing on TV. Just as I'd given up on finding something to do, Jacob came out of the bathroom, all fresh and sexy looking in his sweat pants. I'd long stopped trying to compose myself and didn't scold myself for any staring and drooling I was most definitely guilty of.

"I thought you'd be asleep by now."

I sat on my knees in the centre of the bed, the blankets pushed back, and patted the place next to me. "I left my pillow in the livingroom so you're going to have to fill in for it."

"I can do that," he said. I watched him move, the muscle in his body flexing, as he made his way over to me. It was torture to watch, yes, but it was worth it. He climbed onto the bed and held his arms open for me.

"That's not close enough," I told him. "My pillow is for cuddling and I think you can do much better than that."

He came over to the middle of the bed with me and took my face in his hands and kissed me on my lips, slow and long. "Bella," he said in my ear when he pulled away, his voice husky in that way that drove me insane, his breath hot on my skin. His hands went to my waist. "How could you compare me with a pillow?" He kissed me again, holding me as close as my body would allow and I decided to make the most of it. I tangle my fingers through his hair and held him to me without trapping him. But he leaned forward and ended up pushing me back and leaning over me, half naked smelling like men's shower gel. I was lying on back and he was kneeling between my legs, kissing me like he hadn't seen me in ages. It was one of those slow but passionate kisses that usually meant there would be something beyond just kissing. My body had too many hormones running through it not to become hot and excited and wanting of him.

And then, suddenly, like he remembered my condition, he stopped. He pulled away, the both of us panting. I still had my hands in his hair. "I'm sorry," he apologised.

"No," I breathed. "What for?" He didn't have an answer and he couldn't look me in the eyes. "It's okay, Jacob. I'm fine."

"I don't know how, I can't . . . "

"It's okay. You won't hurt me." I struggled to keep the desperation and frustration out of my voice. I didn't want him to feel bad so I kept telling him, "it's alright, I'm alright," stroking his hair.

He he was quiet a long time and I tried to soothe him. But then, after a minute, he said, "Just tell me, okay? If I hurt you, you'll tell me?"

"Of course."

He has a moment when I thought he was going to change his mind but then he kissed me very carefully, not with the same passion he'd had a moment ago. I let him take his time, I let it build, I waited for him to get comfortable. And when his lips left mine and started trailing slowly down my jaw, down my neck, his hand sliding up my sides, I knew he wasn't unsure anymore.


	25. Chapter 25

**AN: It's been ages since I wrote a JPOV but here it is! Yay! Enjoy!**

I wasn't completely awake but I wasn't asleep either. I could hear the sound of morning coming from the outside: people, traffic, bird songs . . . It was part of the quiet and didn't bother either of us. I could feel Bella's warm body and light breathing as she slept soundly against me: cheek on my arm and her leg lying over my body. I was brushing the rich brown hair at her temples unconsciously.

And then her loud, persistent alarm radio went off.

My eyes opened slowly and I saw her stir a little, let out an enormous yawn and then groan. "Jacob?"

"Hmm."

"I don't feel like going to work today," she croaked with a sleepy voice. She never opened her eyes.

"Then don't," I told her, reaching over her body so that I could slam my fist against the radio and shut it the hell up.

"I'll have to call in sick," she said, trying to get up but I stopped her.

"I'll call Angela for you."

"Thanks," she sighed.

"Don't worry about it," I said, bringing the blanket back up to her shoulders and running my fingers through her hair again. "You just go back to sleep."

And she did. Almost instantly she was out like a light. I was surprised that she waited so long to take a day off from work. She was always so tired and needed more rest than she allowed herself. Like when she was asleep sometimes, she'd still have that crease between her eyebrows that told me that she was worried about something and it made me worry about her. But I learned that that Bella could handle herself. She wasn't as fragile as I made her out to be in my mind. Even now, sound asleep against my body, her face peaceful, she looked so dainty and breakable, and last night she proved me wrong. She showed me that, as hard as it was for me, I shouldn't fuss over as much as I do. I was so afraid of hurting her, I couldn't bring myself to be with her that way. At least not until she encouraged me, of course. I have no idea how she convinced me otherwise. There was something about Bella, and I didn't know what it was that made me want to make and keep her happy.

Then my phone rang and I quickly and carefully slid away from her to keep from waking her up. I didn't even check the caller I'd as I put the phone to my ear, reached out for my sweats and said, "Hello."

"Hi, Jake."

Well damn.

I wasn't expecting this.

I was taken off guard by the voice I hadn't heard in ages but had known since my childhood and would recognise anywhere. Admittedly, it had been a long time and I'd forgotten him.

"Embry?"

"Uh . . . Yeah." Quiet. And then, "How . . . how are you?"

"I um, I'm . . . good . . . How about you?"

"I'm okay, I guess."

I nodded, as if he could see me.

More quiet.

"And . . . Um, how's Bella . . ."

His question was hesitant. He was afraid it might upset me. "She's doing well," I told him, walking out of the room so that I wouldn't wake her up. "Her and the baby."

"That's good."

Another awkward pause in the middle of our conversation. It never used to be like this. With one of my best friends in the world. My brother almost.

"Jake . . ." he started and then trailed off. "I'm sorry I made you mad. Things just . . . It's not the same without you."

I leaned back against the wall and rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm not mad. Anymore. I just needed your support and I apparently didn't have it."

"I know and I'm sorry. I miss you, Jake. You're my brother," he said, following my earlier thoughts. "You were my partner in crime."

I felt guilty now, because I hadn't thought of him in ages, or at least I didn't want to think about him, forced myself not. It took a lot of effort to ignore your best friend. I'd shoved him out of my mind and left it at that and now here he was calling to apologise.

And then, suddenly, I realised just how much I missed him too. Out here, I was surrounded by Bella's friends and none of my own. It wasn't the same as when Embry and I joked around and got up to no good. He _was_ my partner in crime, and I just bailed on him.

So I said, "Dude, you sound like I broke up with you and broke your heart. Wuss."

"Whatever man," he sighed. "All I know is, I've been taking all of Leah's crap since you left." He caught onto my tone, that I was joking with him. That's why we were so close. "I have no one to divide the misery with. I don't think I can survive another day."

"Suck it up, soldier. You gotta take one for the team."

"Screw the team, I want out!"

I laughed. He laughed with me we laughed together like the old times, like the idiots we used to be doing the stupid things we used to do. A weight I didn't know I had on me was lifted and everything, even my mood felt lighter.

"I miss you too, buddy."

"Of course you do. When was the last you had a friend as great as me?"

It was true. I never did have a better friend.

"Why don't you pay us a visit sometime?"

"Yeah?"

"Definitely. My kid needs an uncle and unless you volunteer, the alternative is Paul. We can't let that disaster any where near a child, let alone my own."

"That would not be good. I'd be more than willing to save a child from that moron."

"Great then."

"Great."

Another pause, but the good kind. "I'm glad you called, man."

"Me too. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I support you a hundred percent."

I won't lie, I started tearing up when he said. "Alright, this is getting too sappy for me. I'm gonna hang up now. And don't tell Leah you called."

"I mean it, though," he said seriously.

"Thanks. Now hang up before you tell me how much you love me."

"No yooou hang up," he dragged out playfully.

"Okay, bye," I shrugged and hung up.

That phone call made my day. Still smiling like an idiot, I decided I might as well call Angela and excuse Bella from work.

I went to the kitchen to make Bella something to eat when she woke up and took it back to the room with me. She was awake when I got back, lazily stretching out her arms and legs with a yawn.

"You're awake already?"

She rolled over onto her back to place a hand over the top of her belly. Her eyes are still heavy and her voice still has a croak in it. "Yeah. It's this hyper active baby of yours. Started kicking about a minute ago."

I put the trey down on the bedside table and went to next to her so I could feel the kicks. Soft thumps tap against my palms from the other side of the smooth skin of her stomach. "Hey there, kiddo. I thought we had a deal? Ease up on the kicking. I wonder where she gets her energy?"

"I don't know," she sighed tiredly, "but it's definitely not from me. February needs to get here quickly."

"Only four months left to go, Bells, hang in there."

She blew air into her cheeks and let them deflate again with a huff. "Easier said than done. And you don't have to carry around a self-abusing stomach around with you all day. Ugh, and I need the bathroom, again, so if you will excuse me . . ."

She got up out of bed and waddled over through the bathroom door.

She is something special, that woman. And not just because she was the mother of my child.

I think I might love her.

**AN: Sorry for any mistakes. I'm in a bit of a rush. I need to study for test week. But wait till you read what I have planned for the next chapter! I'm hoping on making it super dramatic and Jane is specially involved, naturally, in this particular bit of the story. So I'll be very busy for a while. But until then . . .**


	26. Chapter 26

**AN: Okay, so test week is over and I think I passed most of those dreadful things so I managed to squeeze a bit of writing in today. Hope you like it.**

Angela was in the best mood over the phone this morning when she got to work to hear that Jane had been given two weeks suspension and a second written warning (this isn't her first offence, as if that's hard to believe) for 'offence against a co-worker'.

"Bella, do you know how much sunnier our days here will be for a whole two week? Like everyone has rainbows and sunshine floating over their heads instead of thunder clouds."

"As much as I'd like to be there to witness this," I said, locking the door on my way out. "But I've taken the day off to go shopping."

"You? Shopping? Um, I've known you since high school, and I literally have had to drag you to the mall kicking and screaming. What the hell?"

"Not for me, Angela, obviously." Jacob opened the car door for me and I climbed in. "I kinda have a baby on the way. You know, he or she will probably need clothes and diapers and such."

"Right. Have fun then, I guess. But remember, I have dibs on the baby shower, so don't over do it."

"No promises," I told her.

The mall was quiet the way we wanted it. Otherwise we wouldn't have come on a work day. There were no crowds or line or random people who recognised Jacob's face. We could stroll hand in hand as slowly as we'd like. Upon my sudden enthusiasm for retail therapy, I insisted we walk into every eligible store and search every rack and buy everything that was anything remotely close to adorable. Teddy bears, bottles, bibs and all those things. I had never in my life felt thins excited, had this much energy over shopping, not even for myself. But there was something about miniature clothes that was so appealing. I must have bought all footy pyjamas on sight and we had so many diaper packs in our cart we had to put things in the car before we could start again.

"Jacob, look at this!" I squealed excitedly, holding up the most adorable bumble bee baby suit I'd ever laid eyes on. It had the black and yellow stripes, the little wing and even came with a hat complete with feelers. It wasn't meant for new borns but I was going to buy it anyway.

Everything we bought obviously had to be unisex: colours like yellow and green, but it was difficult sometimes. There were always pink dresses and little blue overalls. There was a specific sweater I couldn't, for the life of me, convince Jacob to let go of. Pink and red with _Daddy's #1 Girl_ sewn across the chest. No argument would pry his fingers from it, so I told him that he could take it as long as he also bought the corresponding blue_ Daddy's #1 boy_ sweater with it. He agreed but was smug about it.

"Fine. We'll get them both, but it won't be necessary in end."

"You can't be sure of that," I tell him. "There's a fifty percent chance that's a boy."

"We'll see," he said, more than gladly putting the pink and blue sweaters in the cart.

I ended up liking how empty the mall was, thinking that, from then, I was going to do all my shopping in the middle of the week, whenever I could at least. I was busy looking at stuffed animals while Jacob looked at car seats and I'd just picked out a cute giraffe when a man commented, "Oh, that's cute. "

I was going to lift my head to reply to the man but the moment my eyes left the toy I was blinded by a bright white flash right in the face with a quiet _click!_ Just as my eyes were adjusting there was another flash, blinding me again.

_Click!_

I must have been standing there, wide-eyed, for a long time before I could understand what was going on. It only fell into place when the guy with the camera made a request.

"Smile for me, Bella."

_Click!_

_Click!_

_Click!_

And I was blinded again. Quickly, I turned my back on the man and started walking, (head down, eyes still popping with colour), in the opposite direction to find Jacob.

"Hey! Where you going? I just want to ask a few questions!"

I couldn't really remember where the aisle for car seats was but I kept walking away. The _click!_ followed me as I moved my legs as fast as the would go without actually running.

"Wait, it's only a question and a picture for People magazine! Where's Jacob?"

Oh God, paparazzi. I turned a corner and then another, hoping that weaving through aisle would get rid of him but he kept up with no problems, probably because you could only move so fast when you waddled. I could hear his footsteps and his breathing close behind me. "Jacob?" I called out hoping he'd be close by but no answer.

I wondered if I was anywhere near the car seat aisle, but with luck like mine, I was probably as far from it as I could get. "Jake!" I called out again but still nothing. There were only a few people around and none of them were anywhere near me.

The man was behind me in no time and I was suddenly jerked back as he grabbed my arm painfully above the elbow and I cried out in pain.

"C'mon. Just one picture with you and Jacob. How about it?"

"Let go of me!" I tried to yank my arm away from him his grip was stronger than iron chains and it hurt. "You're hurting me! Let go."

"Listen, lady. Your friend said you were going to take the pictures so just co-operate, will ya."

Friend? Angela wouldn't do this, that's for sure. "What are you on about?"

"Some chick named Jane. She told us where you were and they sent me get a photo. Now hold still."

Ah, Jane. The cause of ninety percent of my problems, the devil in my work place, that pain in my ass. Of course she would be the reason behind half the problems in my life. In fact, I bet she was the cause of all the world's problems: global warming, the missile crisis, the great depression . . . I bet she even started apartheid or something. So in the greater scheme of things, I shouldn't have been surprised at all that the wicked witch of Seattle was to blame for this particular problem.

I tried to get my arm free again but he only pulled me closer forcefully and it felt like my arm was being crush. This time my cry rang aloud and was probably heard by everyone in the store, few as they were.

That's when Jacob turned the corner from three aisle away from where we were. It didn't take long for him to figure out what was happening and, without a hint of confusion, his face flashed with deadly anger. "Get your fucking hands off of her!" As he came charging over to where we were standing at the back of the shop, he didn't waste anytime and sent his fist across the photographer's face, connecting to the man's nose with uncanny accuracy.

The minute the man let go of me, the pain of the blood flow rushing back to my arm was terrible. I could already tell that there would be a bruise to colour my skin not too long from now.

The man was on the ground, nose pouring out blood into his hands clasped over his face, and I swore Jacob was going to keep kicking the shit out of him if he had the chance. Kick after kick, the man grunted in pain. I had to stop him before he ended up killing the man. "Jake! Jacob, stop!" He managed to deliver one last kick to gut before I took his arm his arm and struggled to drag him away. "Let's go. Let's just leave, please."

He took the man's camera, opened it up as much as he could then smashed to the ground, lettings it's pieces scatter all over the floor. "I better not see you again! I'll beat you you to pulp if you touch her."

"Jacob! Please!"

He doesn't move at first but after a few tugs on his arm he stopped resisting. Slowly at first and the he turned to me and took my face in his hands. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"Jacob, I'm fine. My arm hurts a little," a lot actually, "but I'm fine."

I took his hand from my face and led his out the exist of the store. We left out trolley there in the middle of the store and I was just eager to leave.

The whole drive home, Jacob kept suggesting we pass by the hospital just to be sure I was okay, but I told him I was really fine and begged him just to take me straight home. It felt longer than the drive to the store. When we got there, the was a man with a camera waiting there, trying to look inconspicuous by the lobby door. He snapped a few photos of us getting out of the car and approaching us. _Click! Click!-Click!_ He could barely lift the camera to his face again when Jacob snatched it from his hands roughly. "You won't be needing this," he said angrily.

"Hey! That's my camera!"

He was ignored as Jacob led me to the elevator.

I couldn't be happier to be home. All I wanted to do at the moment was lie down on my bed. My arm was throbbing above the elbow. Jacob got me some ice and held the pack gently to my arm.

"I have no idea what made them think of finding me here. I thought they wouldn't even consider this place."

I hadn't told them about Jane's laptop invasion because I didn't want to upset him. Now, thinking that she might have actually stolen some of our pictures, it was obvious I'd have to tell him all about it. I'd seen how quick his temper was, and I was sure that this wouldn't go over smoothly.

"It was Jane."

"Who?"

"Jane. The one I work with. She probably saw you in my pictures when she went through my laptop."

"Why would she do that,?" Already, I could hear him getting mad.

I sighed tiredly. "She's hateful and crazy and loves to make people miserable."

"Why didn't you tell me before!"

"I didn't want to upset you. It wasn't necessary. I didn't think she'd do anything."

He groans and places my hand where his was holding the ice-pack to my arm. "This is ridiculous. "I'm going to your work place tomorrow and I'm to have a serious talk with her." His fist is clenched tightly, a vein popping on his forehead.

"She won't be there." I told him, hoping he'd let it go. "Aro suspended her for two weeks."

He pulled out the phone and held it to his ear. "Well then, I'll just have to find her myself. And when I do, she'll regret ever messing with you." He stomped off into another room angrily.

I was too tired for this. All I know is that, for Jane, this was definitely not going to end well. She should watch her back now that Jacob was after.

But this time, though, I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop him . . .

...

I woke up uneasy in the middle of the night with a nightmarish thought. I knew for a fact that Jane had gone through my personal files and pictures on my laptop. What I didn't know was what exactly it was she found. A chill crawled up my spine as I thought about whether or not she'd gotten as far as my videos folder . . .

**AN: yeah, so, maybe it's not as much drama as I'd promised but it will escalate . . . I think. Let me just say that Jane has gotten herself in a world of trouble. And whther or not she's been through Bella's videos? You'll just have to be patient. Yeah.**

**Sorry for any mistakes.**


	27. Chapter 27

**AN: after my computer deleted this whole chapter, I had to rewrite it again and now I have no energy left in me. Please enjoy.**

For the next few days, I couldn't go anywhere without the click of a camera right behind me. Even worse when the first magazine had my picture on the front cover. I was everywhere. Everyone was talking about Jacob Black hiding away his pregnant girlfriend and everyone wanted a picture.

It wasn't to hard to figure out that Jane sold the pictures she'd gotten off of my laptop to every magazine editor she could contact. My guess was that she was raking it in, even suspended from her job. Jacob wasn't too happy about it all and I could him grumbling angrily to himself. From what I'd heard, I'd watch my back if I were Jane because he couldn't wait to get his hands on her.

He was even more protective of me these days, driving me to and from work and insisting on keeping me at home while he did everything I needed to have done. I told him it wasn't necessary but he did them anyway.

At work today, I couldn't focus on anything. It was just one of those really crap days. My head felt like it'd been bashed against a brick wall and my arm, now complete with a hideous purple bruise, was still hurting. Everything irritated me, the ringing of phones, the mechanic sound of the copy machine and even the tapping of my fingers across the keyboard of my laptop. To say that I was in a rubbish mood would be an understatement.

I was the first person out when five o'clock struck and Jacob was there waiting for me. The whole way home I was quiet and even when we got there I was ready to sleep off the shit day I'd just had.

At first Jacob didn't bother me about my mood and let me be pissed off, slamming cupboard doors and dragging my feet everywhere I went. But eventually, when I was done abusing my hair with the hairbrush and had finished brushing my teeth, I saw him approach me in the mirror. He wrapped his arms around my waist, only barely getting his finger tips to touch.

"What's wrong, Bells?" he asks, kissing my cheek.

"It's nothing," I say sharply, even though he's not the one I'm angry at. I'm not eve angry at Jane (or not entirely, at least). I was angry at myself and my own damn stupidity, because I'd gotten us into this mess.

"Hey, you can tell me, it'll make you feel better."

I turned around to look at him. "I'm going to be a terrible mother," I told him resentfully.

And maybe I would have been in a bad mood anyway, but I felt that my new baby body and the complimentary emotional instability contributed to how crap I was feeling.

"C'mon on now. Where does that come from?"

"I couldn't keep an eye on a _laptop_! I left it there with Jane! _Jane!_ What was I thinking?"

"Hey, that was a mistake, it happens. What does it have to with anything."

I pushed passed him but he caught my wrist and pulled me back to his body. He held me at the shoulder and tried to look me in the eye but I diverted my eyes every time. "Bella?"

When I look at him, I have tears ready to spill over and run down my cheeks. "What if I make a mistake with the baby, like forget the baby at the mall or don't hold them right? What if I fall asleep while I'm supposed to be watching them? What if I leave the baby with someone I shouldn't trust? I can't be making mistakes like this. I screwed up royally with those pictures." So now I had tear on my cheeks and my bottom lips was jutting out as if I was a toddler.

When Jacob makes a sound somewhere between a chuckle and an exasperated sigh, I feel offended. He led me by my shoulders out of the bathroom and sat me down on the bed. He knelt in front of and took my hand. "Bella, mistakes happen all the time but it's okay. I mean, when you make mistakes, you learn from them, right?"

I didn't answer.

"Right?" He coaxed with the wrinkling of his forehead.

"Yeah," I agreed quietly.

"And I'll be there to help you out. That's what I'm here for. You won't forget the baby in the mall because I'll make sure you don't. If don't know how to hold him right, I'll show you how. If you need a nap, just say so and I can watch the kid while you sleep. That's why kids have two parents, to support each other. You've got me and I've got you. And by the time this baby gets here," he said and put his hands on my stomach, rubbing gentle circles, "we'll be ready. We've read the books and taken the classes. We'll be ready. So don't worry about it, alright?"

"Okay," I nodded, feeling better.

"Good," he said, standing up and sitting on the bed beside. "You're going to be a great mother. I can tell."

I smiled and kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

I should have told him that he was going to be a good father. A brilliant father from what I could tell. He made me feel so much better, though the doubt was still there, I wasn't as afraid. Four months could be such a short time and the baby would be here before we knew it. But I was more confident now, knowing that I had Jacob by my side.

"I think it's time you get some sleep. We have a doctor's visit tomorrow."

After giving me two paracetamol tablets and a glass of water, I was able to get to sleep without my arm or my headache keeping me up.

The morning came with news of Emily going into labour just a few hours earlier. I woke up to Jacob on the phone and it was Sam on the other line, excited as hell. Apparently, right at that moment, the whole family was sitting in the waiting room, probably leaving no space at all for any of the other people in the hospital. I could just imagine the abuse of all the vending machines any where near that bunch. Sam promised to keep us updated, not able to control his excitement.

When I was eating my breakfast, my day became that much brighter when I received an unexpected text from my buddy Paul, who I hadn't spoken to in ages. Jacob didn't really understand my abrupt burst hysterical laughter until I showed him the text while I tried not to choke on my cereal.

_You're Next, Bella XD_

I don't think Jacob found them that funny, not as funny as I did. To him, they were just three stupid word from his stupid brother in law. To me, on the other, found them beyond hilarious as I pictured Paul in the waiting room, typing out the words on his cell phone with his classic moronic grin smeared all over his face. I laughed for a good half hour before I could breathe again.

The doctor's visit was the same as all the others, almost routine. But that didn't really matter, though, did it, as long as things were okay. She was worried about my stress levels, especially stress related to my camera-ready stalker-like friends hiding in every bush (she brought it up, not us) . "Ten healthy little fingers and healthy little toes. Both you and your baby are in perfect condition." Was what the doctor told us. "In just four moths we should have a healthy little baby. Are you sure you don't want to know the gender?"

"Yes," Jacob and I said simultaneously.

"Okay then. My work her is done. Just remember not to let the media and paparazzi stress you too much, okay."

I didn't snicker like I wanted to. This whole week had been a crap load of stress neatly packed and fold right on top of my shoulders. But this day started okay so I didn't say my mind. Instead, I decided to keep things on a positive note. "Stress? Pfft, not with this guy around," I say pointing at Jacob. "He watches me like a hawk when he can. Even the slightest signs of stress and he pounces like a panther."

"Good," the doctor approved. "That's how it's supposed to be."

Jacob was just swelling with pride at the praise he was getting from all corners, chest sticking and smile pulling from ear to ear.

"Well, don't let your ego get to big," I laughed as he helped me off of the cot.

Yeah, today had been better than the rest of the crap week I'd had. I made a mental note that I'd have to reply to Paul's text sometime soon, but right then I just wanted to get home. I just wanted to get home and loaf around the rest of the day with Jacob.

But of course, things don't work out that way and Jane once again managed to ruin things without even being there. Not five minutes after getting home, the police were at my door. Jacob wouldn't let me get up to get the door but rather let the cops in and sat them down on sofa adjacent to the one I was sitting on. I could tell that he was already irritated as he was beside me on the sofa. "What can we do for you?" he asked politely.

"Miss Swan we need to ask you a few questions." There were two of them and the one who was talked seemed to be a real charmer. His massive grey brown eyebrows were set angrily and his mouth was in a permanent scowl. If this was a game, he would be the bad-cop. The other guys was quiet, polite and young. I could see the recognition in his bright blue eyes and his slightly-auburn hair was in an army-like buzz cut.

"Okay."

"Miss Swan, where were you between nine and ten-thirty am?"

"Here. I'd only gotten up at about ten fifteen."

"Do you know a woman by the name Jane Maroni?"

"Yes, we work together."

His face was still settled in grump mode. "And what is the relationship like between the two of you."

Ah, the cliché bad-cop trick question. I bet he knew that our relationship is shit but he wanted me to say it so that I could be caught in whatever spider web Jane was weaving.

"It's . . . hostile," I told him. "She's very difficult to be around so I keep my distance."

"And what do you mean by hostile." I wondered to myself when good cop would jump in and take over for his grinch of a partner. Anytime now would be great, thanks.

Jacob let out an exasperated groan and shifted his weight next to me. But I only patted his knee and answered. "Jane has a tendency for causing trouble or making people miserable. I try not to involve myself with her."

Quiet, and the. "Miss Swan, Miss Maroni's apartment was broken into and trashed this morning and she firmly believes that you are responsible."

I must have had super self control at that moment if I managed not to burst out laughing. Instead, I gestured at how there was more of me than normal and scoffed. "Because I'm clearly capable of breaking into people's homes."

He stared at me for a long time and I couldn't tell whether he had the bad-cop blues or if he didn't appreciate my outraged sarcasm. He glared at me until Jacob cleared his throat and the young good cop piped up.

"Sorry for inconveniencing you but this is our standard procedure. We just need to ask a few questions and we'll be out of your hair."

"Okay," I nodded.

"Did you ever go out at all today, Miss Swan?"

"Yeah, we were at the doctor for an hour. We only got back ten minutes ago."

I was glad to finally give good cop a turn. "And do you know anyone who would like to harm her?"

How about every fucking person on the planet?

"Well, like I said, she's very difficult to be around and even harder to work with. She makes trouble with everyone so we stay away from her. We don't even know where she lives because we didn't have a reason to."

He nodded thoughtfully before smiling. "Okay, that's all we need. We won't take anymore of your time."

"Oh we don't mind," I said and Jacob was just as polite.

I pushed myself up off of the sofa when the two officers got up, ignoring Jacob's protests.

"Oh, you don't have to get up for us-"

"Don't worry about it," I flick him off. "A few steps to the door won't kill me."

Jacob couldn't stand to let me walk to the door unsupported and put his arm around my waist.

"If you hear anything, Miss Swan please contact us right away."

"Yes, sir. I'll do that."

"Congratulations, by the way," he said, gesturing at my stomach.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"Have a nice day," he said to the both of us, even shaking Jacob's hand before disappearing after his partner.

"Poor guy," I sighed as I closed the door. "How did he end up with a partner like that?"

I wrapped my arms around Jacob and he kissed my forehead. "I don't know. Maybe grumpy was the one who trashed her apartment. He looks angry enough to do it."

"Well, whoever it was, they deserve a high five and a fat kiss from me."

"I know how you feel. Bitch got what she deserves."

That's exactly how I felt. I hoped whoever it was broke every little thing they could get their hands on. Smashed a few lamps and the tv maybe. Cut up a few dresses, broken a few heels. I hoped they did a number on her. I hoped she lost her job. I didn't ever want to see her again.

**AN: So sleepy. Sorry for any mistakes. *Passes out***


	28. Chapter 28

**AN: So, I've been sulking a while now because Chris Hemsworth (bless his soul) did not win buttkicker of the year at the Choice Awards. I think he could kick butt better than Dwyane whatever-his-name-is and still look good (and by good I mean extremely sexy) while doing it. But please enjoy this chapter while I continue to ramble in a corner, demanding a re-vote.**

"Okay, are we taking a break anytime soon, cause I'm really not cut out for this manual labour thing," Angela whined as she and I picked two boxes from Ben's truck and carried them up to the new apartment. I had no idea what she was complaining about because she offered to help and even got Ben to let us use his truck. Right now, he and Jacob had just carried one of my bookshelves up from the moving van.

"Agh, stop complaining already! You wanted to help. And anyway, these are are the last few boxes. We should be done in just a bit."

She looked around the lobby conspicuously, a grin smearing itself across her face. "Well, I also wanted to show you something. I mean, Ben told me he could help you out with your publicity problem."

"Publicity problem?" I assumed she meant picture of me on magazines and tv shows and being followed by unemployed men with cameras. But how was she going to help me with that. Every week, one of my personal pictures appeared on another cover. Unless she was planning on stopping that I don't see how exactly she could help.

Jacob and Ben appeared when the elevator opened and Angela said she'd tell me later. As he approached, I could see Jacob eyeing the box in my hands and the disapproval on his face was more than obvious. He reached his hands out to take the box from me but I snatched it from his reach. Exasperation coloured his face, expression almost pleading.

"Bella, you really shouldn't be doing any lifting. In fact, you shouldn't even be on your feet. Let me take that from you."

He reached out again and I refused again.

"Jake, come on. It's just my old stereo, it's not that heavy. I can't do nothing the whole day."

"Yeah, you can. We won't mind." He had to shut Angela up before she could offer her thoughts on whether or not that last statement was true or not.

"I'm fine. Really. And these are the last of them so we'll be done soon. After that, you can tie me to the furniture if you want."

He nodded but I could see that he didn't like it. "Just don't over do it, okay?"

"Yes sir!" I affirmed and would have saluted if it weren't for the box I was holding.

A half hour later we had all the boxes and furniture inside and the moving truck had been sent off. The place was nothing but boxes and book shelves and plants. Angela ordered a pizza from down the street, Ben plugged in the television and Jacob held me to my promise and had me sitting back on the sofa before the very last box had been set down. He asked me if I was okay and I laughed because he was genuinely concerned, as if he'd seen me lifting weights instead of two pound boxes. I took his face in my hands as he sat on the edge of the sofa, looked him in the eye and told him to "Stop worrying!" I held his gaze until he nodded and then I kissed him.

At that moment, Jacob's phone beeped and he pulled it out of his pocket. After a quick look at his message, he gave me the phone to see. It was a picture of Sam holding a new born baby wrapped in pink blankets and wearing a pink little hat. He had a huge smile on his face that it seemed that if he smiled anymore, he'd split his lips. The caption at the bottom of the picture said:

_Hannah-Louise Uley_

_Born November 14th_

_7 pounds + 8 ounces._

_Mother and baby are perfectly_

_Healthy and are doing well._

"Awww, she's so tiny and pink!" I cooed, giving the phone back to Jacob. "God, Sam looks like he could smile through a funeral right now."

"Who looks like he could smile through a funeral?" Angela asked as she walked in holding three large pizzas in her hands.

"My cousin just had a baby girl," Jacob told her. "She was born just this morning."

"As much as I appreciate the miracle of birth as much as the next person," I started, "I don't think I could handle the more than twenty-four hours in labour. This better be ready when time comes."

"I'll sit on your belly," Angela offered and Jacob shot her a worried glance. "I'm kidding!" She exclaimed when she saw him, put her hands up in front of her.

Ben decided that enough talk had taken place and more eating should happen. "Can we eat already, I'm starving?"

Angela and I were content with two or three slices maximum, but Jacob and Ben seemed to be able to scarf down seven large slices in one go without feeling overwhelmingly full. It irritated the two of us because, first, there was no way in hell a woman could eat seven whole slices of a large pizza and stay in physical shape. Second, I was pregnant and even eating for two they ate more than me and I was just dreading the post-baby body that I was going to have.

Angela, to cheer herself up, decided it was time to watch the rerun of her favourite soap opera, much to all of our distaste and cringing to the theme song as Angela hummed along to it. She even went on to sit on the floor right in front of the screen.

"I thought I'd escaped this when we stopped dating," Ben mumbled under his breath from his place on my other side. I laughed.

It went on forever as we all endured the storyline of how _Michael_ had forgiven _Amber_ for the baby fiasco and they were getting married and melodramatic acting that rivalled the likes of any _Bold and the Beautiful_ actor. The dun-dun-duh at every scene was giving me a headache, but Ben and knew well from experience that nothing we said would result in the changing of any channels.

"Agg, when Embry visits next week, remind me to kick him in the head for agreeing to this trash."

The swerve Angela pulled to face us had been expected by Ben and I (we knew what happened whenever anyone even attempted to dispute the quality of this tv programme) but took Jacob by complete surprise. But when she looked at Jacob her eyes were wide with wonder.

"You know Embry Call?" She said like a little kid asking about Santa.

Jacob shrugged, not sure what was going on. "Yeah. We've been best friends since we were kids."

"_And you never mentioned it to me?_"

Oh.

"Should I have?" Jacob asked confused.

Ben sighed and smacked his palm to his forehead. "She's like his biggest fan ever. I remember how many precious hours I spent listening to every detail about this guy." He pointed at the tv.

Angela was now on her feet as she waved her arms about in the air. "Bella, why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't know it was the same guy," I told her defensively. "It never even occurred to me."

"And he's coming to _visit! _Bella, if you love me as much as I love you, please let me meet him please!"

She was jumping up and down in front of me with her hands clasped together and pleading in her eyes. "Angela, I've never met him either, I can't promise to introduce you."

Without hesitation she turned to Jacob, not a second glance in my direction. "Jacob, pleeeeeeeeeeeease let me meet him please! I will owe you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever . . ." She continued with the forevers while Jacob sat beside me, not really sure what was going on.

"Dude, if you plan on ever having a single moment's peace ever again," Ben piped in, "you'll say yes right now."

With great uncertainty, more because Angela's sudden insanity was unpredictable rather than he thought it was a bad idea, Jacob said, "Okay, I -"

The following squealing and shrieking and clapping of hands combined with a small little dance had Jacob beyond confused and cut off from what he had been planning to say. Ben shook his head as he took another bite of his pizza.

"Angela, sit your ass down and shut it!" I threw a pillow at her but she dodged it expertly and refused to stop her celebration.

"Embry Call is coming to visit me! _Me_!" She squealed again.

"He's coming to visit Jacob. Calm down!"

She danced and spun and shrieked all about the new living room like a teenager. She was about to say something else when a knock on the door stopped her as her mouth was opening. "Miss Swan? It's the police. We'd like to have a word with you. Again"

Jacob groaned loudly as he shoved himself off the sofa from beside me and trudged to the door. Even though I couldn't see the officers from the box filled living room, I could hear just from the voices that it was the good cop and bad cop who had come to see us last week. My vision confirmed what my ears when they tailed Jacob back into the living room. Good cop greeted everyone while bad cop still seemed grumpy.

"Miss Swan, can we speak to you for a second."

At that, Ben got up from his place beside me so that good cop could take a seat next to me while bad cop chose to stay standing across from me. Thanking Ben, good cop sat down and pulled out a note pad and pen like last time. I offered them (well, just good cop) something to drink but he politely declined.

"Okay, officer, what can I help you with?"

He sighed but smiled a friendly smile at me. "Miss Swan, this morning between 12:00 and 12:30 am, where were you?"

I could see in his face that he knew that this was unnecessary because at a little over six months pregnant there was nothing I could really be responsible for, but he had to do his job the way he was told.

"Well, my friends have been helping Jacob and I move into this new apartment all morning," I told him, gesturing at Angela, Ben and the general room around us.

He nodded. "Around that time, Miss Jane Masimo's car was battered and smashed at a mall parking lot while she was inside." This line of questioning must have started to bore him. "She, again, suggested that you might be involved. Since you clearly have a legitimate alibi and considering your condition, do you know of anyone who might have been planning to harm Miss Masimo?"

I shook my head, though many people would have liked to be the ones who taught her a lesson, me included. "Not at all. It's like I said last time, we'd rather just stay away."

"Officer," Angela jumped in, momentarily forgetting her fangirl hyper moment. "I think it's in the best interest of everyone if you consider taking that woman in for a psychological evaluation. I don't think she's well."

"Hush, Angela!" I scolded her but she grinned at me with a shrug.

"Thank you for your time, Miss Swan. We will leave you and your friends to the rest of your day." By the time he got up, his partner had already showed himself out. I only realised then that his badge had the name Benson on it and I wondered if that was his name. He nodded his good bye to the rest of us as Jacob showed him to the door again with a shake of the hand.

Ben returned to his place next to me and when Jacob came back he put his arm around my waist. "What is the deal with this Jane woman?"

"She's crazy, I tell you," Angela told him. "She needs to be locked away somewhere dark and damp."

"Whatever they do to her, as long as it keeps her the fuck out of my life, I'm happy."

Whoever was doing these things to Jane, as fucked up as it was, I was grateful to them. Finally, the bitch had pushed someone too far and they'd had enough. I knew what was going on with Jane could be dangerous and could lead to here physical harm but maybe if she thought that someone was out to get her she would stop aiming for bitch of the year award. I hoped that she'd stop brining the cops to her door whenever she pissed someone off and they set out to seek vengeance in her apartment or car. But at the same time, maybe if she thought I was behind all of it, as impossible as it was, maybe she'd stop steeling picture to the press in an attempt to get to back off.

The fact, though, was that I was getting more joy than I should have from Jane's misfortunes, so much so that I initiated the celebrating of a new home with Jacob that night when we went to bed.

**AN: The power's gone out. Thank God for laptops. I miss my tv, though. And the battery of this thing will die any minute now so, good night everyone.**


	29. Embry

**AN: So I convinced my boyfriend to go watch a Chris Hemsworth movie instead of G.I. Joe. In the end, I hated it because Chris dies in that movie. So after weeping, because I bet the Rock doesn't die in G.I. Joe, I carried on with my life. So please enjoy this chapter.**

It might have been all in my head, as sure as I was that it wasn't, but Embry Call had been acting very weird around me from the moment he'd set foot in my new home. I was pretty certain that I wasn't just being silly but then again I had been just a little over sensitive about minor things lately. He seemed to be wary and uncomfortable around me for some unknown reason. At first I thought he didn't like me but there were times when I thought he might have been trying to be friendlier than necessary but then he'd let it die out.

I had to admit that I was disappointed by his behaviour because of what I'd expected. Jacob had described his friend as a free-spirited, fun-loving guy who was hardly ever serious. He had nothing but good things to say about his best friend and he linked the thought of Embry to happy memories. But there was one thing, and I'm not sure whether it was negative or positive, that made me wonder. "Embry's the kind of guy to be concerned about his friends," he'd began with a smile, then it slowly disappeared. "Sometimes, he's concern goes a little too far." They he said the words made me wonder whether it was that a good or bad thing.

I thought maybe it would be something like having Paul around, and there was no way that could ever be a bad experience. But I was sorely mistaken. It was nothing like hanging around with Paul. It was dry and awkward and painfully forced. Especially when he decided he wanted to be 'interested' in me and my baby.

"So, Bella? When are you due?"

The question came out of the blue while we were having dinner the first night of his stay. Jacob excused himself to answer his phone and after two minutes of complete silence, Embry's question broke it.

For a second I was stunned, but I quickly got it into mind that maybe if I answered enthusiastically, the awkward might stop. So, I answered as cheerfully as I could, "I'm due in February. The doctor said around the twenty-sixth. Jake thinks it's so cool that it'll be in his birth month."

Fat load of good it did me. After such a lively answer, all I got was a nod and not a single a word in response. What the hell? Did I smell like bad fish or something? I hoped not. I wondered what it was I'd done to make the man so uncomfortable. I didn't say anything, though, because that would just things worse. No, I sat there quietly until Jacob returned, completely unaware of how stiff the atmosphere was. If I pointed it out, it would only bring him into the awkward bubble surrounding us.

When the phone rang, I was more than enthusiastic to excuse myself from the room to answer it. It was my mother, again, and I'd bet a million that she was calling about Thanksgiving. I was right. "Hi, mom. How are you?"

"Bella, are you still visiting for Thanksgiving? I need to know when you'll be here." she asked, not bothering with a greeting. "I want to see you before you give birth."

"I'm great, mom. Thanks _so much_ for asking. The baby and I doing _just fine_." I didn't hold back on the sarcasm as I rolled my eyes. "Yes, we're coming for Thanksgiving. I've said so the other hundred times you've asked. How's Phil?"

"You'll see when you get here," she dismissed my question casually. "Which, by the way, is when?"

"Soon. Maybe a few days before the Friday."

Of course, my answer wasn't good enough for her. "Why can't you come now?"

"There's still more than a week before Thanksgiving, mom. We still have time. Besides, we have our own guest, so we can't leave now."

Naturally, she wanted to know which guest was "more important" to me than my own mother. "I hardly ever see you! Who is this person?"

"It's Jacob's best friend. The one from that tv show Angela likes. He flew over to see us. Well, to see Jacob anyway." I peek out to make sure that neither Jacob nor his friend could hear me. So I whispered, "He doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Why not? You're a lovely girl!"

"Thanks for your biased opinion, mom, but I don't know. I must have done or said something, I think. Or maybe he thinks I took his friend away from him." I didn't go into how Jacob and I weren't exactly in a relationship when I got knocked up and how his moving to Seattle was so sudden. I wasn't planning on telling her ever. But it might be why Embry seemed to dislike me so much. I was the reason he hadn't seen Jacob in months. Maybe he resented me for it or something.

"Well, just confront him about it, then, and ask him what his problem is."

"No, mom, it's fine. I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

"Does Jacob know how you feel?"

"No. I don't want make this weird for him. I'll deal with it."

"You'll need to speak up. You can't let that fellow treat you like that in your own home. Go tell him who's boss!"

I shouldn't have mentioned it to her. Really, what was I thinking? She wasn't going to let it go, so I just agreed with her rantings about standing up for myself and not taking a back seat in any relationship. I was glad the she had called because the phone bill for this conversation would have kicked my ass. Only when I told that I had to start making dinner did she let me off, after a five minute lecture about taking a break from making dinner and house work and all that stuff.

I made dinner and it was still awkward between Embry and I. Most of the conversation was forced on his part and I got very fed up very quickly and stopped trying all together. A little more upset than I thought I would be, I went straight to bed when I was done with my food. I was in too much of a mood to do the dishes anyway. Not too long afterwards, Jacob followed, hands soft and shrivelled from dish washing. He got into his sweat pants and crawled in behind me, shirtless and warm. I didn't tell him how slightly hurt and pissed off I was at his friend. I'd already decided to suffer in silence.

But I've been living with Jacob too long now, and he'd learned to read my mood in certain situations where I wouldn't say out loud how I felt. As he curled his body along mine under the covers, he whispered in my ear, "What's the matter, Bells?"

"Nothing," I lied.

He sighed and shifted closer to me. "I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"

"It's nothing."

"We're not doing this again, are we?" he asked me with a kiss to my neck. "I've already told you that you can tell me anything. I meant it."

I didn't want to have him feeling weird between the two of us. The whole day, he'd been oblivious to how tense the atmosphere was and I didn't think it'd be necessary to point it out.

He kissed my neck softly. "You're not going to tell me?"

No, I said to myself.

"You sure?"

Yes.

"Okay then. Sleep well." He settled comfortably behind me, his breathing warming the back of my neck pleasantly. His hand made slow, soft circles on my stomach like he did every night but it was too exaggerated and I knew he waiting for me to say what was bothering me. He wasn't trying to get to sleep at all.

I sighed because I knew that he wouldn't let it go until I told him. "I don't . . . I think Embry doesn't like me."

The circles on my stomach stopped for a second but started up again the very next moment.

"Why do you think that?" He asked quietly.

"Well," I started, staring at the slight glow of the window through the light curtains at the opposite end of the dark room. "He's very weird around me and I can tell that he tries to avoid me. Like he's uncomfortable around me."

"Maybe he's shy of you," Jacob suggested.

"He's not the shy kind, remember. You've told me that many times. He just doesn't like me." I was trying not to take it personally but how could I not? I wasn't expecting to be that upset but the tears slid down the side of my face anyway. Jacob told me that Embry was the kind of person who easily liked most people and made friends simply by being around. But with me he didn't seem to like me as easily. It didn't even seem like he was trying to like me, most times.

"But you're different," Jacob explained, pulling my arm so that I rolled onto my back. Supporting himself on one elbow, he wiped the tears from my face. "You're my girlfriend and we're having a baby. He kinda has a reason to be afraid of you, liking meeting someone's parents."

"I guess, but that's not it either. If it's so easy for him to get along with people, why isn't he trying with me? I think he thinks I've taken you away from him. That's why he doesn't like me."

"He's not a child, Bella."

"Yeah? Then what's his problem. Why doesn't he like me because I'd like to know what I did wrong." More tears and I was past the point of knowing whether they were rational tears or not.

For a while, Jacob focused on wiping the still running tears from my face. Then he said, "I don't think he doesn't like you, and if he does, it's not because of you or something you did. But I'll talk to him and find out what the deal is, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed in a small voice. "But don't make him think _I_ don't like him. I just want to know what I did to make him so uncomfortable."

After promising to get to the bottom of things, Jacob told me to stop stressing and get some sleep. It was easy enough, seeing as I was always tired after an especially dramatic emotional display. But the next morning when I got up for breakfast, things hadn't seemed to changed a bit. Embry was still awkward around me. A quiet exchange of "good morning" was what occurred when I walked passed him on the sofa to the open plan kitchen, followed closely by a silence. I got a kiss from Jacob, who'd just made himself a cup of coffee. Embry sat quiet for a long while before saying something. It seemed that out-of-the-blue questions were an instinctive reaction to . . . nervousness? Awkward moments? I don't know but I was, again, asked a random question while I poured milk in after the Cheerios in my bowl.

"So, Bella? Any idea what you're gonna name the kid?"

For a quick second I paused then I glanced over at Jacob, who grinned innocently behind his coffee mug. "Uh," I started, turning back to Embry, "we've spoken about it but we haven't settled on anything yet."

He nodded without words and after another minute he said, "Can I give a suggestion?"

Oh. Okay. "Sure . . ." I agreed warily.

"What about Courtney, if it's a girl?"

Immediately I shake my head. "Not Courtney!"

"Why not?" He asked a follow up question, which I wasn't expecting at all.

"Well, um, when I was in college, there was this chick named Courtney who had the room next to mine and my room mate's and it was terrible." I shuddered at the memory. "A different guy was in there every week and I could hear the bedposts banging against my wall and the disturbing all-night name-screaming. Now I can't hear the name without feeling violated. So no Courtney."

"I knew a Courtney once. Nice girl," he told me. "I think you should give Courtneys a chance."

I quickly gulped down a mouthful of Cheerios to say, "No thanks. Courtney is forever ruined for me."

"But she was at least nice enough to redeem all Courtneys. Plus, it's a great name on it's own."

"I knew that Courtney too," Jacob nudged me with a smug grin. "And I know why Embry liked her so much. She was only nice to him, if you know what I mean."

I wrinkled my nose. "_Ewww! _I don't want to hear _that!_ Shut up!"

"So definitely not Courtney?" Embry tried.

"Not Courtney."

"Fine," he shrugged and got up. "I'll think of another name. Maybe I'll get some inspiration in the shower."

He went of and disappeared into the guest room before he crossed the hall into the bathroom. I sat at the kitchen island, eyeing Jacob curiously as I chewed on a spoonful of Cheerios. He'd just finished his coffee when he noticed me watching him.

"What?"

"What did you say to him?" I demanded.

He only shrugged. "I just sat him down and spoke to him before you got up this morning."

"And what did he say the problem was?"

He faltered for a second before he came over and kissed my forehead. "Don't worry about it. It wasn't you. Get dressed, we have baby yoga today."

Still extremely smug, though, he walked off without further explanation. I wondered what he'd said to Embry to make him talk to me. Whatever it was, it did the trick. But still, I wish I knew what the problem had been in the first place. I can't help feeling that I was the problem and Jacob just told Embry to find a way around whatever is was. I was still going to find out.

**AN: I think I'll do another JPOV next chapter . . .**


	30. Chapter 30

**AN: Here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

I was real jackass and I knew it. I just didn't realise until much, much later. I was so chuffed to see Embry again, and though Bella's friends were great, it wasn't the same as being around and getting into trouble with the guy I'd known since before I could walk. So it was a relief to be greeted by a mischievous grin and an inside joke after months of not getting any of Bella and Angela's inside jokes. Already in the car, on the drive home, he was telling me of all the crazy things he'd done since we last saw each other and how it wasn't the same without me, the partner in crime

"So what does Leah have to say about you being here?" I asked as he grabbed his bags from the back seat. When the door was closed I locked the car.

The silly grin I'd known to signify trouble my whole life widened and I knew something was up. "Well . . ."

"Well what?"

"I didn't tell her I was coming," he admitted, not looking at me but still grinning like a moron. "I left for the airport right after shooting ended for the week."

"Dude!" I exclaimed with a laugh as we stepped into the elevator. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You know she won't let you get away with it unharmed, right?"

"I know," he grinned at me. "But if she did know I was going to be here, what do you think she would do?"

I didn't have to think about it. I knew what he meant. If Leah knew he was coming to see me, she'd fly right over and that would mean she would be here. Nobody wanted that. "You're right, man. Good looking out."

"That's what brothers are for."

With a quiet _ping!_ the elevator opened up again and I led Embry out and down the hallway to the right door. It wasn't locked so we could go right in.

"Bella?" I called out. "I'm back!"

After I shut the door behind me, Bella waddled her way around the corner, bare-footed and smiling widely. I held out my arm for her and kissed her cheek when she was close enough. She was still half asleep when I left for the airport.

"Embry this is Bella."

"Great to meet you!" Bella said before I could continue. "Jake talks about you all the time. I can tell he misses getting into trouble." she said brightly and I watched as she ignored Embry's out stretched hand and embraced him in a warm hug, despite the obstacle of her belly. Almost ready to grab the luggage on the floor, she attempted to bend down for the bags when I took her wrist and pulled her to me.

"I'll show you where you're sleeping tonight," I told Embry after a kiss on Bella's forehead.

"Nice place," he commented once I set the bags down in the middle of the bed in the guest bedroom. "So, what's life like when you're playing 'house' with the chick you knocked up?"

"She's not just a chick I knocked up," I protested, leaning against the wall but he continued over my words.

"Yeah, yeah, you're in a serious relationship now and all that other stuff. What I mean is, how does it feel to be having a kid?"

"It's great!" I said. But before I could open my mouth again, he was already speaking.

"So you've come to like the idea?"

"No," I shook my head. "It's always been great, I guess. A kid can never really be a bad thing, you know. But, now that I get to do stuff like seeing the sonograms and those little Converse sneakers, it's amazing."

He seemed a little unconvinced. "So you're really getting into it?" He asked, as if I wasn't really making sense to him.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't think there's any way not to. I'm gonna have a kid! And I'm really excited for her to get here."

"It's a girl?" Embry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, no . . . Not really. I just really want it to be a girl."

"Dude," he sighed as he tossed himself onto the bed, probably very jet lagged and rubbing his eyes with his forearm. "This is the weirdest thing ever. I can just imagine you changing diapers and shit. And let me tell you, it looks ridiculous."

I try picture it myself and, funny enough, I can't form a serious image in my mind with Embry in the room. In my head, there's baby powder everywhere, a crying kid and me standing there not sure what to do. I chuckle at the thought but it's a nervous laugh. I suddenly knew what Bella was feeling when she was worried about being a good parent. But I push the thought out of my mind and continue.

"Whatever, man. I'm gonna leave you here to get settled or nap or whatever. Bella's probably busy doing something strenuous like unpacking a heavy box or weight lifting so I better go check on her."

He was about to say something sarcastic but I shut the door before he could get it out.

Bella was starting on making lunch when I got back to her, working like I'd suspected. From what I could tell, her intention was to make grilled cheese sandwiches. She already had the bread and cheese out and I put them back in the refrigerator as she opened a drawer for a pan. Placing the pan on the island counter top, she noticed the bread and cheese was missing and I smiled as innocently as I could when she glanced over at me.

"What are you doing," she asked me, seemingly not very impressed.

"What are _you_ doing?" I countered, taking the pan from her hand and returning it back to it's place.

"I'm making lunch. We have a guest, in case you've forgotten."

I took her hand and led her in to the lounge, sat on the sofa and pulled her onto my lap. She placed her head on my shoulder and I knew she was tired. "Embry is probably fast asleep already. And he'd eaten on the plane, anyway. Don't worry about him."

"You sure?"

"Yes. He'll be fine."

"Okay then," she said easily, swiftly moving onto something else. "So, Officer Benson was here just before you got back."

I didn't like how that sounded. That guy being around meant there was trouble. "What did he want?"

"Well, Jane claims that somebody is stalking her. She's back at work now, you know."

I tensed up just at the sound of her name. I've never met her but she's caused me so much trouble. "So what does that have to do with us?"

She shrugged, starting to play with the collar of my shirt. "Protocol, was what he said. I just can't help but feel like I should know him from somewhere. Or his name at least."

I took her chin and lifted it so that she was looking at me with her large brown eyes. She had that crease between them that she got when she was worried. "I don't want you thinking about that other stuff, okay. Just focus on yourself and our baby."

"Okay," she agreed, but she could barely manage to nod with me holding her chin.

I was about to kiss her when Embry shuffled in and tossed himself onto the single-seated sofa like a blob. "Man, I'm starved," he yawned. Bella glanced at me, rolled her eyes but got up to make sandwiches.

The day went by quickly and it got late faster than usual. Bella's mother calls and it's quite a long conversation between them. She goes straight to bed after dinner and that's when I notice that she seemed upset about something. I decided to join her after I'd done the dishes since Embry was soon passed out on the sofa.

I crawled in behind her and her irritation was very clear. Very quietly I asked her what the matter was.

"Nothing," she said too quickly and left it that.

I moved closer to her. "I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"

Again, she denies it. It's the same as when she was worrying about being a bad mother and she wouldn't open up to me. "We're not doing this again, are we?" I asked, kissing her neck. "I've already told you that you can tell me anything. I meant it."

She remained silent despite my persistence in asking. She refused to tell me even with my encouragement so I shut my mouth. She knew that I wasn't giving up but rather, hoping that she'd speak to me if I stopped pushing her.

"I don't . . ." She started then trailed off then started again. "I think Embry doesn't like me."

I wasn't expecting that. I was expecting something more along the lines of pre-parental nerves. "Why do you think that?" I asked her.

"Well, he's very weird around me. And I can tell that he tries to avoid me. Like he's uncomfortable around me."

I suggested that maybe he was nervous or shy around her and she promptly reminded me that I'd already told her that Embry was never the shy type.

I turned her to face me. She was crying. "But you're different. You're my girlfriend and we're having a baby. He has a reason to be afraid of you."

"I guess, but that's not it either. If it's so easy for him to get a long with people, why isn't he trying with me." I could hear in her voice that she was taking it personally when I was sure there was a reasonable explanation. "I think he thinks I've taken you away from him. That's why he hates me."

"He's not a child, Bella," I said, trying not to seem impatient. But she made it seem that Embry was acting out like a rebellious teenager.

"Yeah? Then what's his problem because I'd like to know what I did wrong."

I wiped her tears away, comforting her before I said anything else. When I thought she'd calmed down a little, I told her that I didn't think she was the problem and that I would talk to him and find the problem. "Get some sleep, alright. I'll sort it out."

In not time at all, she was lost to the world of dreams.

• • • • • • • • • •

Confronting Embry wasn't easy to do. I thought that maybe Bella was being over emotional and hormonal and that Embry had no reason to act the way she thought he was. I didn't want to offend him by accusing of something he wasn't intentionally doing. I was very sure he had no issues with her.

I was mistaken.

He admitted it right out that he had negative feelings towards her. "I don't know, man. I just don't trust her, ya know. I can't tell you what it is about her that's so . . . dodgy."

"Dude, what the fuck are you talking about? I thought we were past all this!" I tried not letting my temper get the better of me, I didn't to wake Bella, but I was seriously pissed off.

"I thought so too but being here. It's not the same as I pictured in my head. She's too nice."

I clenched my fists at my sides. "Too nice? Since when is anyone too fucking nice? What the hell is your problem?"

He became defensive then, holding out his palms facing me. "I'm just worried for you, Jake. Are you sure -"

"Of course, I'm fucking sure! Would I be here if I wasn't? Do you think I'm stupid?"

"It's just, the whole thing with Quil, I -"

I cut him off before he could say anymore. "Listen carefully to what I'm saying now. I invited you here so that you meet Bella and be involved in this part of my life. Now if you don't want that, fine by me. But since you're here anyway, here's what's gonna happen," at this point, I'm seething rage. I jabbed my finger into his chest with more force than was gentle. "You are going to act like a proper guest and you are going to be all smiles whenever she walks into the room. You will greet her in the mornings, you will thank her for feeding you and you will make her feel appreciated. I won't have you here making her feel uncomfortable. Do we understand each other."

His eyes were wide but grim at the same time, all natural humour gone from his face. He only nodded.

"Good," I spat out. "And at the end of the week, you're free to leave and never come back."

I'd have stormed out to walk off the rage I was feeling but I didn't leave Bella alone with Embry in case she woke up before I got back. So I go off into the only unoccupied room in the house and slam the door behind me. I only left the nursery when it was clear that Bella had woken up.

That morning, breakfast between Bella and Embry was more pleasant, Bella even smiling. I gave Embry a pointed glance when she wasn't looking, telling him to keep it that way.


	31. Chapter 31

**AN: Wow, you guys really love your JPOVs. I should probably include them more often. Thank you so much for positive and constructive feedback. Enjoy the story.**

I should have known that Angela would pitch up eventually, but for some reason, she seemed to drift to the back of my thoughts since Embry arrived. I had no reason to be surprised when she burst into the apartment Saturday morning, demanding she know the whereabouts of Embry Call.

"I know he's around here somewhere! Might as well give it up. No use keeping it from me any longer!"

"Ang -"

"Just tell me where he is, Bella!"

It wasn't as if we were trying to deny that he was right in the other room but she didn't give us the chance to speak and say anything. Instead, she continued her craziness. Jacob and I got to the point where we continued eating our cereal without trying to interrupt her as she went on and on. When Embry finally stepped out from the guest room, looking slightly confused, I was convinced that Angela would shut up. I was so wrong.

I'd always known that Angela was girly by every definition of the word. I'd known that she was a fangirl extreme and never took her admiration of a person half-heartedly. What I didn't know was that she was capable of producing a scream so high pitched that the rest of us nearly went deaf and lost consciousness. We covered our ears in futility as her squeal sounded like a siren, letting the whole world know she was excited. And then she started the jumping and clapping and twirl. Well, it wasn't exactly jumping but there was no other word to describe what she was doing.

Before we knew it, she pounced on poor Embry, who appeared to be very frightened and uncertain of what was going on. "Ohmygod! Ohmygod! Ohmygod!" She chanted in excitement, having a grip on Embry's arm so tight she might actually have bruised him. "I can't believe it's you! You're actually here in front of me! This can't be real! Ohmygod, I love you so much! You're so gorgeous! I can't believe it's really you! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

I watched in horror as Angela assaulted our guest and I whispered over to Jacob that we should probably do something to save the poor guy. Jacob was more than amused, grinning wickedly at the brutality occurring before our eyes. "Don't worry about him," he said wickedly. "He's used to this kind of thing. He can handle it."

I don't know how, but Angela had managed to cling onto Embry by wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. She was smashing her lips into his cheeks repeatedly with force and at that, I couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Come on," Jacob said as he put my empty bowl away. "Let's go buy your mom a gift. She'll want us to be there before Monday."

"We can't leave them like this," I laughed, waving my hand to gesture at Embry, who was desperately trying to pry Angela off of him. "She'll end up hurting him.

"Yeah, we can," he said. "They'll be just fine. You'll see." He seemed to enjoy the sight way too much. I grabbed my bag as he pulled me out the door and into the elevator. The last thing I heard was Angela frantically screaming, "You can't deny our love!"

• • • • • • • • • •

I think Jacob might have been stalling us from getting home. Once we had a present for Rene and Charlie, he decided that he wasn't quite ready to go home yet. He took me to a whole variety of places and encouraged me not to think of what torturous things Angela was doing to poor Embry. Whenever I brought it up he'd say, "Don't worry about it. He'll be fine with her. She won't hurt him."

I highly doubted that. I knew just how much damage (and by that, I included psychological damage) Angela could inflict on any given person if she the energy enough to. It was a wonder my mind was still intact after all these years together.

We were out the entire morning and when the day hit noon, Jacob wanted to get something to eat. After that, he took me to a private park where sat on a bench and fed pigeons. I thought of Embry, who was probably starving (and traumatised) by now and wondered why Jacob wasn't over there with him. "I meant it when I said he'd be okay, you know. I think Angela will be good for him. Teach him not chase the girls so much," he chuckled.

I didn't like it. I mean, wasn't the whole point of Embry's visit to get them some time to hang out and catch up. "He's leaving in a few days. Don't you want to spend as much time with your friend as you can?'

He suddenly took my face in his hands and kissed my forehead. "Bella," he said my name, looking deep into my eyes. "You and this baby are what's important to me, now. Even though our situation didn't come about by the most conventional order of events, you two are the best things that ever happened to me. No one else can change that. Not even Embry." I can see in his eyes that he means it, with every fibre of his being. I don't know if it was his plan to do so, but I was so dazzled and captured by the romance of his words, that I quickly forgot all concerns of Embry and kissed him. I was too damned easy!

By the time we arrived back home, I was anxious to see what disastrous things Angela had done to our guest and our home. I don't know what exactly I been expecting but it definitely wasn't Angela, wide-eyed on my sofa, hanging on every word coming out of Embry's mouth. She was leaning forward, towards him, her elbows on a cushion and her chin resting in her hands.

"There we were!" Embry exclaimed dramatically, his hands splayed out in front of him. "Trapped between a bear and a fence twenty feet tall! We could try climb the fence but the bear would get to us before we were out of reach!" His face was ridiculously animated but I could tell from his expression that he was having the time of his life telling this story.

"A little on the dramatic side, isn't he?" I whispered to Jacob as he put the presents on the dining room table.

"It's his second nature now. You've seen him on that show. I told you he would be fine."

"And then," Embry voice transformed from dramatically loud to 'thrillingly quiet', "I finally decided to sacrifice myself for the good of my friends. So, very slowly, I walked along the fence, away from my friends, waving my arms to get the bear's attention. I had to move slowly because of the cut on my leg, you see, but tried my best to bring the bear away from them." He continue to tell Angela, who was soaking in every word, about how he led the bear into the woods, crossed a river to cut of his 'scent' and doubled back to his friends. "We managed to climb over the fence," he said, seeming to forget that the fence was supposed to be twenty-feet tall, "and got back to our cabin safely and relatively unharmed."

"Oh my god!" Angela gushed like a thirteen year old. "All this to see kids with cancer? That is the most amazing thing I've ever heard!"

Embry nodded with a very smug, very egotistical smirk on his face, thriving in the attention Angela was showering him in. "It was all worth it," he sighed, very clearly impressed with himself.

"Let me tell you the real version of that story," Jacob chuckled. "We weren't going to see cancer patients, it was an all girls music camp not far from where we were shooting a movie scene. We had to climb out the dorm room window because the camp counsellors were right outside the door. It wasn't a bear that chased us, it was a German Shepard." Angela's nose wrinkled, Embry's face sulked and I was beyond amusement as Jacob corrected Embry heroic tale. "Embry couldn't run because his pants were around his ankles and the fence was a shoulder high wooden beam fence. He freaked out and ran into the woods with the shepard chasing after him. He spent ages up in a tree while Quil and I got over the fence and back to bed. He only got there an hour after us."

I burst out laughing at how pathetic the truth was compared to Embry's adventurous story.

"Come on, man! Why you gotta destroy a good story like that? She was really into it!"

"So it wasn't real?" Angela asked, somewhat outraged but trying not to be too offended by her dream-boat Hollywood dream man. Embry just smiled brightly at her and scratched his head, seeming to make her forget about the validity of his story and focus more on his face with a swooning sigh.

My feet were killing me from walking about all day and Jacob insisted that I go lie down. But I told him that I'd rather sit with the rest of them on the sofa. He let me rest my head on his shoulder while he kept his arm around my shoulder. Angela recalled all the stories that Embry had told her, only for Jacob to reveal to true chain of events that took place in each of them. There was even a dispute over which one of them had broken an arm trying to rescue a little girl's cat from a tree on a stormy evening. They had to call Quil, who was able to clarify on loud speaker that it was in fact Jacob who'd broken his arm. He said he remembered on account of the fact that the girl even signed his cast the next day when he came back from hospital. She addressed him as "Jakey." By the end of two hours, Embry could only salvage two stories in which he was actually the hero, no additions or alterations.

"Whatever," he tried to sound indifferent. "Enough about our stories, what about you guys?" He asked, looking expectantly at Angela and I.

She shrugged as if to say, 'what is there to tell.' I can imagine that she felt that the timeline of our friendship wasn't as exciting as what she'd heard from Embry, even though Embry's story were hardly real-life occurrences. "We met in high school, became best friend, went to college together and were lucky enough to get work together. Basically, we're attached at the hip."

"Awww, c'mon." Embry whined with a nudge into Angela's side. "Everyone has something to tell."

I told them a story about when Angela and I had just become friends and she got me to help her break into the boys' locker room to retrieve a love letter she'd put in the wrong boy's backpack and we had to get it back before he read it. It was the worst experience of my life: it was hot and humid and the smell was overwhelming. We hid in a towel locker that was empty. It felt like we were in there hours. Maybe even days. When the boys left, we stumbled out of the tiny locker, coughing and gagging and eyes watering. She found the letter and we high tailed it out of there faster than I thought was possible.

"That was the most disgusting thing ever!" Angela said. "I can't believe you agreed to that."

"I kinda didn't," I reminded. "I was under duress as your best friend. You dragged me into that locker room by my ear!"

"The things you do for your friends . . ." Jacob sighed nostalgically.

"I know, right," Embry agreed with a stupid grin on his face that made Jacob roll his eyes and frown.

"Exactly. I've done many things for Bella. For example, eleventh grade-"

"Don't you fucking dare!" I cut her off, knowing exactly where she was going with this words. "We are not going there." I threatened.

"Now, I really want to hear," Embry grinned even wider.

"No way. Not happening," I declared.

But I was totally ignored.

"When we were in tenth grade, there was this new family that just moved in from Alaska. One of them was the most gorgeous guy we'd ever seen, like the kind of guy they'd cast as a Greek god in a movie or on a magazine or something. He was the most beautiful thing any girl had ever seen, and every girl wanted Edward Cullen."

I put my face in my hands and laugh without much humour. "I can't believe you're telling this story."

"Tough," Angela said and continued. "Anyway, this very sexy Edward Cullen had girls passing out whenever he walked down the hallway, totally unaware of the effect he he had on us. And so, rumours bounced between girls of what Edward did and didn't like in a girl and one day, while studying in the library, we heard that Edward liked brunettes with belly rings and short hair. So Bella immediately went home and chopped her hair to half it's length."

I remembered that day very clearly. I used one of the magazines Angela had left in my room to copy the "cute asian bob" that was promised with a few easy steps. That was the easy part because Charlie didn't mind.

"She didn't bother asking her dad for the Belly ring because she knew he would say no. So instead, she begged me to go to with her to Amy Warner's house so that her big sister could pierce her belly while she was back from college.

"But you know Bella," she rolled her eyes at Jacob. "That Saturday she was a nervous wreck just thinking about the needle. It was worse when we got there while someone else was getting her belly done and just the sight of it was too much for her. Amy's brother and his friend were holding the girl down while she clenched her teeth and tried not to scream. Bella was absolutely terrified." The smile on Angela's face was truly sadistic. She really enjoyed telling this story. I think it might be her favourite, considering she told Kate, Eric, Ben, Mike and Benjamin the moment the first got a chance.

"When Amy's sister announced that she would be ready for her, Bella had a full force panic attack sitting there on the girl's sofa hyperventalating. But gutsy old Bella, she was still determined to get her belly ring. She got up, took a step in the direction of the table and passed right out before she could go any further."

By now, Angel as well as Jacob and Embry, were laughing their hearts out at this story. "One of the brothers had to pick her up and take her outside for air. When she came to, she insisted on the belly ring but I told her I didn't want her dad to see me as an accessory and I drove her home. For a week, I tortured her about how hilarious it was to see her be that scared of a needle."

"And what happened to Edward?" Embry asked, probably wondering if eventually asked out a girl who actually got a belly ring. But luckily for me, I like the end of the story, so I had no problem taking over.

"He ended up asking me out," I answered brightly, more than happy to clarify

"Thank god!" Angela burst out, naturally. "At that stage I was convinced she was going to die alone. Bella is not social enough."

"I think I'm plenty social. Or as social as is healthy," I told her in my defence.

Jacob had my back, pitching in to say, "I think I'll have to agree with that. She might be as . . . outgoing as you are but she's not shy or timid."

Angela's responding laugh (accompanied by a snort for effect) was almost insulting in it's undignified manner. She snickered once more then commented, "Oh please! I'm glad you pitched up when you did. Little Miss Sunshine over was practically a virgin before you popped into her life."

Angela cracked up at her own joke, and I would have laughed along with her if something strange hadn't caught my eye at that moment. The colour drained from from Embry's face, his skin going pale and the smile fading from his mouth. His eyes widened slightly, as if he were caught off guard, and wondered what had happened to get this reaction from him. When I turned to ask Jacob what was going in on, the words didn't get a chance to leave my mouth. He had his eyebrow raised, giving Embry a smug yet pointed look. I looked back at Embry, whose face was now sporting a heavy frown. Did I miss something or was I imagining things? I was just in time to see Jacob roll his eyes before he gave me a wide smile and kissed my cheek happily.

**AN: Someone asked me why I didn't mention the Benson issue in the last BPOV chapter. Well, I did that because, compared to what was happening with Embry, Officer Benson became the lesser concern from Bella's point of view, whereas in the previous chapter, Jacob's concerns were more of the things Bella admitted to him. So if she didn't make it known to him (like the Embry issue, for example) he wouldn't be concerned about it.**

**Anyway, please review. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**


	32. Chapter 32

**AN: Alrighty then! Next chapter. This is just a quick little update. From here I probably give it no more than ten more chapters before the story comes to an end. Meaning that Bella's baby is soon to be arriving. I've already chosen a name from the one's you guys suggested a while back and when the time comes, I'll announce who's name got picked. I'd like to tell you now but then you'd know the gender of the baby, and that would be no fun. So please enjoy.**

It was probably very petty and very immature of me to be enjoying the uncomfortable expression on Embry face as Angela obliviously retold the story of Bella's romantic history. Or, conveniently, the lack thereof. I was smug all the while she spoken, feeling ever grateful to her for bringing it up. With utterly no restraint, Angela went through a whopping total of three boyfriends in Bella's past, from her time in Fork right up until we met. Only three men to speak of.

"After Edward, I never liked any of the other guys for Bella. They didn't seem to have the same chivalry that he did. In college, there was Demetri, some Italian kid with a super creepy family. He was always sweet but personally I thought he was too possessive. So that obviously didn't last forever."

If this was how Angela was sober, I wasn't sure how I felt about ever seeing her drunk. But right now, I owed her big time.

"And then, there was that bastard, Tyler. I never liked the fucker. From the very first second, I knew the guy was a dick. I did a happy dance when they broke up!"

"Oh, thanks again for that, Ang," Bella commented. "I appreciated that little dance in my time of need."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you got rid of that loser." And then Angela groaned. "And then there was the dry spell . . ."

"Oh god," Bella moaned, mortified.

"The Bella Swan Man Drought of 2009 . . . And 2010 . . . _And _2011 . . ."

"Gee, okay thanks for that. We get it!"

Angela laughed and I joined her, kissing Bella on the cheek. Embry didn't laugh, though.

"Really Jake, thank god for you, because I swear she was about to get cat number one if you didn't show up."

Angela and Bella's stories went on for the better part of the afternoon. But before we knew it, it was late and Angela, reluctant as she was, needed to get home.

"Oh, oh, Ang! Wait a second! Come here," she said, reaching out and grabbing Angela's hand and pressing it against the top of her belly. "Baby's saying goodbye. You feel that?"

Bella's face glowed as she pressed Angela's palm to her stomach. Angela knelt down in front of her and placed the other hand on her as well. "Wow. This kid means business. Well, hello to you too, kiddo." She shared a smile with Bella before she started talking to the belly. "Hey kid, do me a favour, will you. When you get here, tell your parents to name you Angela. I mean, if you're a girl, of course. Best name in the world, you won't regret it. Better than any name these morons will give you." She winked at Bella and threw me a grin. She got up and helped Bella up with her. We walked Angela all the way to the elevator, Embry sheepishly following a few feet behind us. She gave Bella a huge and a pat on the belly. I wasn't surprised when she turned to me, arms open and a smile on her face. It might not be the same but Angela was my friend too. I accepted her hug and she whispered in my ear, "I really am grateful that Bella has you. She needed someone like you to brighten her life." And then louder as she pulled away from the hug. "You guys are gonna make such awesome parents. Especially you," she says to me. "Bella needs someone to keep her steady in a crisis."

"Thanks for having so much faith in me," Bella sighed. Then she put her arm around my waist. "But you're right. Jake will be a great dad."

I had to admit, it got to my ego and my pride, hearing that both these women thought that I would be a good father. It made me feel like a real man. "Um, I'll try my best."

"Perfect!" Angela exclaimed. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she said, blatantly giving Embry a wiggle of her eye brows. "Next time, I'll bring an over night bag." She winked, stepped into the elevator and then she was gone.

I could tell that Bella was tired so I ran her a bath for her and helped her in. Sometimes she'd have me get in with her but tonight she just wanted to get to bed. When she was half asleep under the covers, I was about to get into the shower when Embry knocked on the bedroom door.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I had a feeling that he wanted to talk about what Angela said in the afternoon. Surprisingly, I didn't feel like discussing it so late at night but I didn't object and stepped out of the room, closing the door tight behind me.

"Yeah?"

He was nervous. "What an interesting day today, right."

The shrug I gave him was so natural you might have thought I wasn't pretending to be indifferent. "Not really. I'd heard most of the stories before. Bella and I have been getting to know each other since I got here."

He glanced down, back at my face and then at his feet again. "I think I owe you an apology."

"No," I told him simply and his head shot up to look at me. "You owe Bella an apology, not only for the way you treated her but for things you've said and thought about her when she wasn't there."

I really shouldn't have but I did enjoy the shame blatantly colouring itself in his face. "I know," he sighed. "And I want to make up for it. Anything."

"Just don't go back there, dude. It's not good for her. I can't have her stressing."

"You have my word. I mean it."

I thought of last time we had a conversation similar to this, over the phone weeks ago when he'd said that he'd come to terms with the situation, that he'd accepted my decision. He clearly didn't mean it that time and I didn't think I could take it if he we ended up back a at square one. So I couldn't help it when my face turned serious, my voice turned threatening and my fists clenched under my folded arms. "Listen, I don't want to have this conversation again. That woman in there is having my child and there's nothing that going to change that any time down the line. If you can't keep to this understanding, just say it now and we can cut all ties."

His face was serious now too but not in defiance. Rather, he was heeding my warning. "It won't be like that."

"Good," I told him. "Because if you go back on this, we're gonna have a problem."

"You gonna beat the shit out of me?" He asked, face serious but a joke lying underneath the words.

"Among other things . . ."

He nodded for a second, and then, with a grin, "Could you spare the face. It's the money maker."

I chuckled. "Sorry, man. I plan to hit you where it hurt. Now go away, I need to get some sleep."

"Right, then." He held his fist out to me and I touched mine to it. "See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

The rest of the week was less stressed between Embry and I, not only because of the talk we had but also because I was more than than amused by Angela's behaviour around him. It was always difficult to get her away from him. Impossible, almost. Bella didn't even try. She said she knew how Angela's mind worked: somewhat similar to that of a psychologically disturbed teenage drug addict.

He was able to get along with Bella better than before, in the few times he was away from Angela. I couldn't help but watch them both carefully: to see whether there was doubt in his face or discomfort on Bella's. It seemed to me that he was keeping to his words rather well. I hoped, mostly for the sake of our friendship, that he was going to keep it that way.

Sooner than I thought, the time for Embry to head back. Angela, in a word, was devastated. She had actual tears in her eyes and kept her arms forcefully wrapped tightly around his waist.

"I'm gonna miss you so much!" She wailed into his jacket, entertaining the hell out of me. After much finger-prying and brute strength, we were able to get her off of him. Still, she insisted on tagging along to the airport and we thought we might as well. Otherwise she'd just follow us in her car anyway. She sat in the back with Bella, though. That was the best we could do. She didn't stop talking throughout the drive and re linked her arm with Embry's the moment we stepped out of the car.

The drama reached it's peak when the flight was boarding and Angela practically attached herself to Embry's arm. Again, it took us a whole five minutes to get her off of him. "I'll call you everyday!" She wailed.

"You don't have my number," Embry said, almost smug. He'd underestimated the level of crazy.

"Well, actually, I do. I used your phone to call mine then saved the number. Now we can talk everyday and all night."

I had no control over how hard I laughed then, as the colour drained from Embry's face. I almost needed to sit down. Bella reminded him that he needed to board and Angela screamed, "I love you!" as he walked away.

I laughed even harder when, on the drive back, Angela was already making the first call.

What did Embry get himself into?

**AN: Nearing the end of the story, I'll also be pitching my ideas for my next story and I'd like you guys to choose which sounds more interesting and if you're interested. I hope you'll like them just as much as you've like this story.**


	33. Chapter 33

**AN: Another very quick update, though this one is much longer than the last chapter. I'm gonna be writting exams soon and I thought I should quickly do this in case I didn't have time afterward. So enjoy the chapter.**

"Mom, you don't have to pick us up," I told Renee for the millionth time, the same as when I always spoke to her. Remember what I said about Jacob's rental car thing?"

"Force of habit," Jacob announced next to me in the driver's seat.

"He says it's a force of habit. Besides, we're already on the road so there's nothing much to do. We're about five minutes away so be ready for us."

"Can't wait, baby."

I dropped the phone and sighed. "She's probably waiting for us in the drive way burning to death," I said to jacob, fanning myself with a pamphlet from the rental company. I'd forgotten how hot it was in Arizona. All my years in Washington had me become used to the cold and very sensitive to the heat. Even though it was getting colder, Arizona had a tendency of holding onto the heat just a little longer than Washington. It was a regular old Phoenix Saturday

In no time at all, we were pulling up to the same house in which I'd spent most of my childhood, Renee waiting for us outside on the lawn. She was waving like a lunatic, arms high in the sky. The moment the car parked right behind Phil's truck, I was more than happy to get out of the heated car. The first thing I noticed was Renee coming right for me.

"Oh my baby!" she squealed. "Oh, look at you! You're so beautiful! And round!" She caught me in a hug, exaggerating how she had to accommodate for my huge stomach. When she pulled away, she put her hands on either side of it. "Oh, my baby's having a baby! Phil, they're here!"

"Mom, -"

She kept talking over me, turning to Jacob, who was next to me. "You must be Jacob!" she squealed. "It's so nice to finally meet you!" She yanked Jacob into an unexpected hug. "Oh, Bella talks about you all the time! You must be so excited for the baby . . ."

Renee went on and on with Jacob, who seemed not to know what to say. Not that it mattered because Renee didn't give him a chance to say anything.

"Well, gees, Bells, you've gone and gotten all grown up." I easily recognised Phil's quiet voice but his arm was around my shoulder before I turned to him. I looked up at his grinning face and put my arm around his waist. He had his favourite baseball cap on. I gave it to him for Father's day when I was nine.

"Well, I had to grow up sometime, Phil. I'm a big girl now!" I said brightly.

"No pun intended?" he teased, poking the side of my stomach.

"Phil! Don't do that!" Renee scolded, finally having said enough to Jacob. "She's a pregnant woman, not a balloon!"

Phil sighed, rolled his eyes, and stepped away from me to greet Jacob.

"Mom, I'm not breakable either. He didn't hurt me," I said.

"Well, you're just about breakable so let's get you inside."

Renee couldn't get me to the sofa quick enough, sitting my down and suggesting I put my feet up. I might have been an exaggeration on her part, seeing as I spent the past few hours sitting in a plane and on the drive here, but I really did feel like I needed to.

Jacob and Phil followed us in with the suitcases, having already made friends and laughing. I had a feeling that Phil insisted on helping out because Jacob was well capable of carrying both cases by himself and he would have said so too.

"So, Bella," Phil asked with a grin. "Do I need to interrogate him or did Charlie beat me to it?"

I laughed. "Oh yeah, Charlie's gone soft over the years. Didn't even bring his gun out like he used to."

Phil turned to face Jacob, arms crossing over his chest and face serious. "Young man, what are your intentions with my daughter?"

"I think you can skip that part, Phil," I told him. "I mean, I'm already knocked up."

Jacob stepped back, holding his palms up in mock defence. "So does that mean we skip to the part where you kill me with your bare hands?"

"I think so," Phil nodded seriously and then we all laughed.

I was so glad that Jacob and Phil were getting along so well. I guess that Jacob was just a very likable person. The rest of the day, Jacob watched sports with Phil while Renee and I caught up.

Renee suggested a few baby names that I found absolutely horrid. Names like Ingrid, Richard, Barbara and Gerald. Those were exactly the kind of old people names that I'd been trying to avoid.

"I'm still thinking about," was the excuse I gave her. "And I'll have to talk Jacob about it." I didn't plan on it but I was sure that Jacob would agree with me on those names.

"What about Bartholomew?"

"Okay, not even, mom."

"Just saying," she shrugged. "I think it's a cute name." We were sitting on two poolside chairs pushed together and she had her arm around my shoulders.

"It sounds like an old man name. It doesn't sound like the kind of name a round face toddler would have."

"Well, honey," she sighed, brushing her hand through my hair, "this baby won't be a toddler forever."

True. "I won't argue with that but I don't think he or she would be very appreciative in their teenage years if they're Bartholomew or Ingrid. And 'Bart for short' just wouldn't do either."

She laughed and kissed my head. "Oh, you're still the same as when you were a teenager. You have that funny way of looking at things," she said fondly. "Okay, then. No old people names."

I was glad for that, though I was pretty sure she would start suggesting weird words that she was fairly certain could be considered . . . not old people names. Instead, she diverted from baby names to my relationship with Jacob. All those months ago, when she'd asked how we'd met during a telephone call, I told her what Jacob said to Charlie: that we met at a "work thing". And thankfully, that seemed to be enough for her at the moment. But now, she wanted to know more about us.

"So obviously, you didn't get together and decide to have a kid right off the bat."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course not. It was just this one night we weren't careful and boom! Baby on board," I explained, walking my hand up and down my belly, using my index and middle finger as legs.

"So, what are your plans after the baby comes?"

"What do you mean?" I knew exactly what she meant but I was hoping that if I play stupid, she'd drop it and move on. But still, I knew my mother better than that, and all my hope was futile because she went there anyway.

And she didn't beat around the bush, either. "I mean, do you plan on getting married afterwards?"

I groaned when she asked out loud because I knew what she wanted my answer to be. And if I couldn't produce the right answer, she'd keep on asking until I could. "Well, it's not something we've talked about yet. I mean, I know we're having a child together but in reality we haven't known each other that long."

"Okay, then. But it is something you should talk about, though."

"Alright, mom. But not right now. Baby first and then maybe we'll talk about it."

"Okay then, honey."

Renee was really taking this pregnancy seriously. She was terrible. She wouldn't let me do anything, not a damn thing. I couldn't even make my own damn sandwich. All she would let me do is waddle to bathroom and back. That was the only time, to her, in which it was acceptable to be on my feet. Lucky for me, it was Thanksgiving week and she couldn't bare to leave all the shopping to Phil, who'd definitely fill a trolley with beer and forget to get the ingredients for the pie and corn bread. So, begrudgingly having to supervise him and leave me at home, she was out shopping a lot. This gave me a chance to get up and move around, but not much under Jacob less watchful eye.

I realised, though, that I'd forgotten to get Phil a Thanksgiving gift and I'd never live down the guilt if I didn't get him one. So I had Jacob drive me to one of the many malls I was certain Renee never went to out of habit and got him some thing. We barely made it back in time to beat them home but we did by a mere minute. We kept the gift under a jacket in the trunk of the car. When the walked in, arms weighed down by tons of groceries. Of course, I wasn't allowed to get up but Jacob helped enough for the two of us. "Assistance on your behalf, my love."

Renee wiggled her eye brows at that, I guess reminding me about that "talk" Jacob and I needed to have.

One night, while we were sleeping in my old room, Jacob whispered to me that he certain that Renee was far crazier than Angela and could now see how I handled my friend so well. I laughed for the better half of five minutes then kissed him good night.

Charlie arrived on the Tuesday, not as early as Jacob and I but early enough that Renee wouldn't nag him about it. He brought Jacob and I gifts, some sent over by Jacob's family. We got one from Billy and one from Rachael. Paul had sent one for me specifically but Charlie was instructed to ensure that they were not to be opened before Thanksgiving.

They got along famously, Jacob and my two fathers. It put a huge smile on my face face to see them fool around and joking with each other. Phil and Charlie even made a joke of sharing fatherly duties and set up a roster: Charlie could hate Jacob on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday while Phil got Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Sunday was a day of rest.

Renee started cooking on Thursday and I was not allowed to help at all. Phil was a total disaster in the kitchen, Charlie was even worse than Phil and she didn't have the heart to ask Jacob for help, however awkward that would be in any case. So she was in there alone. I proposed that I help her with the stuff I could do while seated like mixing batter, chopping carrots and stuff like that. Friday morning I helped by beating the eggs for breakfast and squeezing the oranges for orange juice. Some of Renee and Phil's friends showed up to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving and Renee was more than thrilled to introduce the pregnant daughter and her boyfriend to anyone who stayed long enough to hear it.

Before dinner was ready, we got a call from Riley and we took turns speaking to him over the phone. He said he'd probably get to visit us in the near future and that he couldn't wait to see how massive I was.

Angela called as well. She was in Forks with her parents and brothers and I could hear the chaos in the background. She told me to say hi to Jacob and my parents and that she had to call Embry before he thought she'd forgotten about him. I was laughing when she hung up.

Dinner better than I remembered in my life. The only thing missing was Riley and I realised just how much I missed him. As much as I expected him to come visit more often, maybe it was time I made an effort to fly over to see him sometime.

Before desert, we all stood up and said what we were thankful for, except me. I wasn't allowed to stand up. Everyone mentioned the two new additions to the family (Jacob and Baby Anonymous) and Jacob mentioned thankful an entire ne family, "A beautiful woman, a child on the way, and three new parents."

It was hard to ignore Renee winking at me at that point but it was also hard not to smile as I rolled my eyes.

We gave out the gifts after dinner. Jacob and I gave Renee this one weird vase I'd seen in a store window, and it was her kind of weird too. She loved it.

We got Charlie a custom made fishing gear: a rod, a cooler box, a bait tin and a jacket with his name on each.

I got Phil a new baseball bat with a little message engraved into it from me.

Phil and Renee got Jacob and I a romantic dinner at a _really_ expensive fancy restaurant, booked for us for before we left Phoenix.

Charlie gave me a photo album of almost every picture we had every taken together, from the day I was born to the random visits after I left for college. The cover was a beautiful white leather, with _Charlie and Bella_ written in blue cursive in the middle. He then gave Jacob a similar white leather picture album without the writing on the cover or any pictures inside. "I was thinking maybe you'd want to start one with your kid when he or she comes along," he'd explained gruffly. "And maybe you could give one to them someday when they have kids." It wasn't my gift but I was moved to tears by Charlie's gesture.

We didn't open the gifts from Jacob's family. We decided we'd open them when we were back home.

All in all, Thanksgiving was amazing. It felt good to have most of my family back in one room. I was actually at a point where I could say, my life was perfect.


	34. Chapter 34

**AN: Yay, my exams are over! And now, I'm back! Are you guys tired of JPOVs yet? No? Okay then here's one. And, after I received a desperately lengthy message from a reader who begged and pleaded throughout the entire text for me put in a lemon in this chapter, I decided that that's I was gonna do. And I did. So enjoy. **

It's amazing how fast time passes without being noticed. Before we new it, it was Christmas and then New Year and Bella came closer and closer to her due date. She couldn't wait really, but more out of irritation than excitement sometimes. She loved that the baby would be here soon but she loved it even more that the pregnancy itself would be over. She'd had enough of the supposed pregnancy glow that she told me actually an ora of impatience and anxiety. She also hated that now it was full force winter and covering up was more difficult than she was used to. "It's bad enough that I'm this huge in the first place, now I have to add layers onto the mass of my mid-section," she once said as she put a sweater on over the one she had on already. I tried reassuring her and telling her that she always looked beautiful but she snorted in an un lady-like manner and mumbled, "Yeah, whatever."

Never one to ever be absent in our lives, Angela was always around for some reason or other. Mainly, it was about the baby shower she'd insisted on throwing, asking our opinions on some things and then categorising some things as "classified". Basically, all Bella and I knew was that theme was going to be ducklings. Bella seemed to like the idea of ducklings but didn't stress herself with the other details with exception to the guest list. She'd given a maximum of twenty people, which Angela wasn't too pleased with but didn't argue.

I also had a special role to play in planning. Angela had pulled me aside excitedly one day (after Bella fell asleep) and I was immediately wary of whatever it was she wanted, but it turns out that it wasn't a bad idea.

"Okay," she started enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "So I have a huge job for and it's probably the most important one." I wasn't sure if she meant that or if she talking to me like a child. "I want you to help with the nursery. I had a really good idea."

I could see her mentally patting herself on the back but I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. "Yeah okay. Tell me what you want me to do."

Her grin widened and almost split her face. "Well, you've seen her room back in Forks, right?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, it's sort of similar to how it was as a nursery but I was thinking we could recreate the nursery version of that room with a few changes, you know. Like, something sentimental."

I had to admit, I was impressed with the idea and that her mental back patting was well deserved.

"Okay, yeah. I think it's a great idea. So I'll be painting and fixing stuff right?"

"Exactly!" she squealed, ecstatic that I was catching on. "I've already asked Charlie for pictures and he sent in a _whole box_ of stuff. I've got the paint and stuff in my car right now!" She grabbed my wrist and led me to the parking where she dumped four heavy paint cans on me while she carried the protective floor mat, tape and paint brushes.

I was more that happy to re do the nursery, it gave me something to do rather than go over scripts and proposals. Whenever Bella wasn't around or unconscious, I used that time to paint the first, second and third coat of paint.

Besides the baby shower conspiring, Angela also gossiped with Bella. A lot. Probably more than was healthy for a single person, but she just kept on going. Mostly it was about what was happening at the work place while Bella was away. She was always saying how she missed working there, even though she was working from home at the moment. So Angela's gossiping was very welcome on her part.

"Well," Angela said, after explaining the complicated relationship between a woman named Lucy and some guy from accounting, "that's not even the best of it. I actually can't believe how much you're missing out on!"

Bella rolled her eyes, clearly saying how uninterested she would have been if she were there to witness all the "drama" herself. But she didn't say anything and let Angela continue.

"It's so creepy. Jane's been unusually quiet lately, like, she never says anything to anyone unless she has to."

This caught Bella's attention. "What?"

"Yeah, I know, right?" She perked up at Bella's sudden interest. "It's really giving me the creeps. No shouting or screaming or cursing or sneering. She's just silent all day doing her job. Kate thinks she's planning a mass murder or something."

"I've always thought she was planning a murder!" Bella exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air as if it were something she'd been saying for a long time. "She's crazy!"

Angela nodded. "I mean, has that Benson cop person ever showed up since the last time?"

"Yeah, but that was ages ago. He said he was just coming to check that we were okay but wouldn't explain why. He hasn't been here after that."

Bella thought that there was something weird about that guy but couldn't quite place it. She said she felt like she knew him from somewhere. I told her she was probably wary of him because his only connection to us was through this Jane woman, which was probably true. From what I'd heard, the woman was a real nut job but for some reason, I really wanted to meet her in person. She sounded like a psycho from a Hitchcock movie. Maybe I'd give her a peace of my mind for messing with Bella so much.

A call from Leah one day made me realise how hum of my life now revolved around Bella and the baby. It had been months since I'd spoken to Leah, given that it was by choice that I avoided it and that she'd called me and not the other way around. She'd called before but I ignored it the moment I saw the caller I.D. The bitch was smart enough to call me with an unknown number this time and like an idiot I answered it without thinking.

"Hello?"

"Oh, so now you answer the phone, do you? Is that how you treat family, Jacob?" Her voice was just as hostile as when I'd last heard it, the sneer she always had on her face matching it like gloves to a hat.

I did nothing to hide the irritation I felt the moment she opened her mouth. Bella, who was sitting with her feet in my lap at the time, looked up at me with her wide brown eyes and her forehead creased.

"Damn it, Leah, what do you want?" I rolled my eyes when Bella pursed her lips tightly together, trying to suppress a smile, and pretended to continue reading her book.

"Aww. C'mon, Jake," she mocked on the other end of the line. "What about a proper greeting for your long lost cousin and old publicist?"

I sighed. "Get to the point, already."

"Okay, fine then. That's how it now," still mocking. "Just calling to let you know that there's talk of your not-baby," I clenChed my fist around the phone at those words, "being due anytime soon. Magazines and tv shows have been calling me non stop offering this and that to get some sort of information about the baby and mysterious mommy. They know you're in Seattle so I'd watch it if I were you. They'll be back to stalk the girl."

Well, fuck my life. Just when I thought they'd be leaving us alone. We hadn't been stalked in ages. But then again that might be because we didn't go out much since visiting Bella's mother. Also, the didn't know our address this time around, probably because Jane didn't know it. Rubbing the side of my face in stress, I thought about how, before I'd gotten into the business, our first manager had told Quil, Embry and I that once we were in, it would be fucking hard to get out. Well, shit if he wouldn't be telling me I told you so if he were here right now.

With another sigh I said, "Fucking fantastic. Agh, just great. Thanks for the heads up, I guess."

"No problem," she said and I could almost see her wave her hand dismissively the way she always did to Embry and I. "It's my job. Or it used to be anyway."

"It's still your job," I told her, feeling a little guilty.

"Well, then you owe me quite a few pay checks. My mailbox will be waiting."

I laughed. "Whatever Leah. I gotta go. Don't you have work to do?"

"Always do, Jacob. I'm a busy woman." And then she hangs up and I can tell it was meant to be a joke.

It felt good to hear from her and speak to her, like old times. Until I remembered what she'd of Bella and decided that next time she tried to call, I'd be just as guarded as I always was.

"That didn't sound too bad," Bella said to me with raised eyebrows. "What was it all about?"

For a moment I didn't know what whether to tell her what Leah had told me or not. But then before she could notice my hesitation, decided not to stress her. "Nah, just a warning about work problems," which was sort of true if you considered paparazzi a work problem.

"And no yelling? Did Leah find a shrink or something?"

I laughed and pulled her over so that she was across my lap. "I didn't ask. Don't care," I grin and kiss her. She put her book down and wrapped her arm around my neck, a hand going into my hair. She pulled me closer, sighing and I know what she wants.

"You know," she whispered in my ear. "I've been feeling a little . . . neglected lately."

"Neglected?" I repeated with chuckle.

"Mhmm," she kissed my cheek then pulled my face back to hers.

She's been feeling neglected? She's come on to me every chance she got. If she's been anything she's been relentless.

I slid my arms under her and get up with her. I carry her to the bedroom and lay her down carefully on the bed. I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor before stretching over her. "I've neglected you, have I?" I said and kissed her hard on the lips. She moaned into my mouth and tried to press closer to my body but her belly wouldn't let her. I rolled onto my back and she straddled my body at the same time. She was eager. She unzipped her sweater quickly and almost tore it off of her self. Her blouse comes off too and they both are thrown to ground to join my shirt. She leaned down to kiss me as I pulled her sweat pants (well, my sweat pants) down and she had to stand to get them all the way off.

Completely naked, she was back on top of me, kissing me with forceful need. I slowly dragged my hand down her side, down her hip and around to her inner thigh. Up, down, up down, slowly and softly. Biting hard on my lips, she took my hand from her thigh and placed it where she wanted it, where she's wet and hot. _Stop teasing me_, is her message and I get it loud and clear. I stroked my fingers very softly to her swollen clit and started to rub and pinch. She moaned into my mouth again, kissing me very roughly, more than usual. I rubbed harder and she started grinding against my hand, gasping. She pressed my hand with hers to add pressure and then, with one long moan, she pulled my hand away from her nub. She sat up and unzipped my jeans, pulling them down to my knees with a little bit of help. I'm fully erect and throbbing and she smiled a little to herself.

She positioned her self right over me and rubbed lightly against the head, pulling back when I try to push into her. She smiled a wicked, heavy-lidded grin at me, telling me that she was the one teasing now. I didn't try stop her. Instead, I ran my hands over her round belly as she lowered herself just so that the the head enters her and then pulled back. She does this for a short time before she lost interest in teasing and decided she couldn't wait anymore. She lowered herself slowly and carefully down my shaft, savouring each tiny movement, until I was inside of her all the way. She bit her lip as she rolled her hips against mine and the started to lift herself again. I slipped my hands from her stomach to her hips and started to move with her. I thrust into her at the pace she'd set, pulling carefully in and out of her. Her head rolled to the side as she started to moan louder. Her breasts bounced with every thrust and I wanted her to come close so that I could suck on her rosy pink nipples. I could feel that she getting close. Her breathing was completely out of control as we thrust our hips together. Her walls clenched around my length and I hold her tighter, move faster. She threw her head back and gasping loudly. I groaned, feeling myself near the edge. I needed to get her there first.

I pressed my thumb right over her clit an rubbed in time with my own quickening movements. Her body began spasming around me, gripping me tightly, bringing me close, but I held on just until her body climaxed and trembled over mine. Once she orgasmed, I let go and came inside her. Our bodies stilled for a moment before she crawled off of me and lay her head on my shoulder, both of us panting.

"Is that what you call neglect?" I breathed into her hair as I kissed the top of her head.

"Oh god . . . definitely not," she said, out of breath. She kissed my shoulder and grinned widely at me.

**An: Was that any good, anonymous reader? And the rest of you too, tell me. Tell me what you think.**


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